A Shift of Axis
by Penn O'Hara
Summary: The stakes are higher when Bobby next locks heads with his nemesis, Nicole Wallace. Sequel to Ocean's Two. Bobby'Alex, Logan'Barek.
1. Chapter 1

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**T**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

**_Synopsis: After Bobby's decision to explore a personal relationship with Alex sends them back to his apartment, they are greeted by an unexpected guest._**

**_A/N: This has been edited to death, and I still keep finding errors. Please overlook any more that I've missed._**

**oOo**

_**Excerpt from the prequel, "Ocean's Two"…**_

_**Get out there, man. Before Alex walks out on you for good and demands the partner-swap with that ass, Logan, be permanent.**_

**To never be with her again, day by day, working beside her, walking with her, using her as his gravity in a skewed world that he didn't quite fit. **

**It was unthinkable.**

**Resolve clasped to him like a sword, Goren strode out of the kitchen before he could change his mind. His gaze fixed on the blond head peeping over the top of his sofa, he targeted in on her, sweeping round the seat and bending down in one motion to take her hands in his and pull her to her feet against him.**

**"Whoa, Bobby! You've fair swept me off my feet! Streuth, I never guessed it could be like this. You're not usually an impulsive bloke."**

**Goren shut down in horror, his hands thrusting hers from his, stepping back from the monster in front of him. **

**"Nicole…"**

**oOo**

**Chapter One**

**"Bobby, I'm hurt," Nicole said, pouting. "You were going to start without me."**

**Goren's head snapped round, urgently scanning his apartment for his partner. "Where's Eames?" **

**He found her, tied to a dining room chair, her head lolling back, neck exposed. He rushed to her, his hands frantically searching for a pulse. She stirred and his heart stopped its sickly catapult to slow to an adrenalin-shot speed that still threatened to suffocate him.**

**"I don't feel too good, Bobby," Alex whispered, her voice cracking.**

**Goren rubbed his palms over her, his gaze desperately looking for signs of trauma. Finding none, he rounded on Nicole.**

**"What's wrong with her? What have you done?" He lunged for Nicole, wrapping his hands around her throat. It felt good to physically subdue her when every other encounter could only be a verbal battle of wills. In the privacy of his apartment, he could get a degree of satisfaction from doing some real damage to her.**

**"Now, now, Bobby," Nicole struggled the words through the grip on her neck. "As much as I love… the excitement of your hands throttling my neck… doing me harm will only hurt Eames. You need me… to save her."**

**In his rage, Goren pushed his fingers in harder and even though her face was turning from a puce red to a receding blue, Nicole still smiled. She had him and they both knew it. Pulling his hands away in disgust, he flung her from him so that she landed in a heap on his sofa.**

**Pulling his cell phone from his suit's inner pocket, he snapped it open.**

**"Make that call and she's dead!" Nicole warned, pushing herself up into a sitting position.**

**His hand froze on the phone, his eyes darting to the closed window.**

**"Alert _anyone _and she's dead. You know me, Bobby. The only avenues I leave open are my own escape routes. Rafiq?"**

**A man in his twenties who could have graced the front page of a GQ magazine stepped out of Goren's bedroom, a Glock with attached silencer dangling from his hand. Goren knew before he could reach the man, the gun would be aimed and fired, if not at him, then at Alex.**

**"Do _anything_ to alarm me, Bobby and my faithful… friend will see that you're dead. You're lucky he hasn't shot you already, after that little cave-man display, but he's seen me get out of worse situations." Nicole's voice resounded with assurance. "But he _will _shoot you, Bobby, and if _you're_ dead, there's no one left to save Eames."**

**Exuding confidence, Nicole flung the long blond hair from her face and draped her arms across the sofa back. The silken sleeves of the green dress that she wore fell back to expose the smooth cream of her arms. Even with her throat bearing the mottled red marks of his fingers, Goren clinically assessed she had never looked more beautiful. But it was a deadly beauty of which he was totally immune.**

**"What have you done to her?" he repeated, his voice low, more in control.**

**She raised an arch brow. "Well, I haven't exactly played nice with her while you were out of the room, but it _is_ reversible."**

**"Poison?" he asked, his temper broiling with his certainty of what she was capable.**

**"One you won't find in the U.S., so your hospitals won't have the antidote. I always keep it for special occasions." She looked up at him through her lashes. On some women it would have been sexy. On her, it was insidious and repulsive. "I didn't want you rushing out and spoiling my fun, but _I_, however, do have the cure and so all you have to do is cooperate and she'll be fine."**

**Goren's eyes darted round the room, looking for a bag that might be hers. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, his gaze extended to his bedroom door. Nicole's 'friend' straightened, his hand tightening on the Glock.**

**"Bobby…" Alex' voice sounded weaker than before. His heart racing, he scanned the room again, desperate to see any sign of an antidote.**

**"You don't have time to search for it," Nicole said, mocking his hope. "She's got about a minute. Two at the most. I'll retrieve the vial when you do as I ask."**

**"Which is?" **

**"Be a good sport and take off your clothes, take a seat on the chair opposite Alex and I'll tie you up before I give her the antidote. I won't untie her, but she'll live. To watch."**

**"What are you talking about?"**

**"Hurry up, Bobby. You don't have much time. Your affair with your partner will end before it can start."**

**"There is no affair–" he began, not wanting Nicole to guess at how important Alex had become to him.**

**"Shame on you, Bobby. Lying to a lady!" She playfully shook her finger at him. "I was watching you from your bedroom window. I saw the kiss in the car. So sweet. Judging by the tentative nature of it, it was your first."**

**Alex moaned, her head dropping to her chest and Goren moved. He didn't necessarily believe that Nicole would give Alex the antidote if he did as she bid, but he knew she would let her die if he didn't. It was a long shot he had no choice but to play.**

**Ripping off his coat, he pulled hurriedly at his tie. "I'm doing what you asked. Give her the antidote."**

**"I'm not stupid, Bobby. _All_ of your clothes."**

**"Why!" he asked, his heart in his throat. "Why is this necessary?"**

**"Look, if you really want to risk your partner's life and waste more time, I'll tell you." **

**Nicole leaned forward, clasping her hands in her lap and explained patiently as if to a child. "It's simple. Whenever we've locked heads, neither one of us has been able to get the advantage. We're too well-matched. I figured, if I could only get you at a disadvantage, I would be able to get the upper hand. A man like you…" She slipped off the sofa in a fluid motion that brought her toe to toe with him. "…needs to hide your insecurities. Disguise your low self-esteem with expensive clothes. Rid you of the trappings of your courage," she flung her hands wide, "and I'll have you where I want you."**

**Goren could hear Alex' breaths becoming laborious and erratic. Whatever was poisoning her was taking hold of her lungs, preventing them from retrieving life-giving oxygen.**

**"You're a crazy bitch!" Goren shouted, unable to hold back his contempt of her.**

**"You're wasting time!" she shouted back, and Goren's eyes narrowed. Nicole wasn't as in control as she pretended. He got the feeling that it didn't suit Nicole to let Alex die, but judging from Nicole's near-panic, Alex' life _was_ in imminent danger.**

**"Just give her the antidote, then we'll talk," he said, deliberately injecting a calmness into his voice that he didn't feel.**

**"You disappoint me, Bobby." Nicole swung on her heel and walked toward Alex, gently coaxing the curtain of hair away from her ashen face, tucking it behind her ear. "I thought you cared about Eames. I thought you'd finally learned to love. I was wrong. She's going to die and you're not even prepared to humiliate yourself to prevent it. Very disappointing." Nicole started toward the door. "Till next time, Bobby."**

**"Stop!" Goren knew he had no choice but to accede to her demands. He had misjudged her. Nicole _would_ let Alex die rather than let him win. Loosening his cuffs, he hurriedly unbuttoned his shirt and ripped it from his shoulders. He flung the shirt at Nicole's feet, chest heaving, his jaw set in defiance.**

**Nicole's eyes gleamed. "The rest, Bobby. Keep going. Much as I'm enjoying the sight of a toned barrel chest, I want the rest."**

**Cursing, Goren went for his trouser belt and removed it. Bending down, he slipped off his shoes, then straightened, eyebrow raised as he paused on the zipper of his trousers.**

**"Definitely the pants, Bobby." She gave a little-girl pout that made his skin crawl. "Don't tease me so."**

**Goren yanked down the zip and pushed his trousers to the floor. "How's your _friend_ with the gun going to feel about this?" he asked, tossing a look at the man still hovering in the bedroom doorway.**

**"Why, Bobby, how thoughtful of you to consider Rafiq's feelings, but don't worry about him. He's used to a threesome."**

**Goren believed her. Nicole had the toxic knack of taking over the free will of everyone who got close to her. Alex' breath had gone from painfully sonorous to quick shallow breaths that couldn't accommodate her need to breathe. She was feebly gasping for air now. Goren kicked off his trousers and stood trembling with anger before Nicole.**

**"The boxers too, sweet-cheeks," she smiled. "I want to see you. _All_ of you." She laughed the laugh of the insane.**

**Sliding off his boxers, Goren stood tall, not willing to bow down before this woman in any way. His humiliation was secondary. Alex' life was worth it and more and he would subject himself to anything to keep her alive.**

**Nicole looked him up and down, her smile widening. "Very nice, Bobby. I think… I really think I can do something with that. But not just yet. I'll tie you up and then I'll fulfill my side of the bargain. Rafiq." Nicole strolled over to the other man and took the Glock from his hand. "Be a love and get me the other rope, then help me over here." She walked back to Goren and circled him, a lascivious smile on her lips, the gun held loosely in her palm.**

**"Take a seat, sport, before you collapse. I want you conserve your strength. You're going to need it."**

**Goren peered at Alex opposite him as he slowly sat, his heart clawing at his ribs. She was still breathing. Barely. If Nicole only knew, to lose Alex now when he had finally made the decision to show her how he felt, would be all the revenge Nicole wanted and more.**

**Rafiq retrieved his Glock from Nicole, pocketing it, and Goren got a lungful of expensive after-shave as the other man helped Nicole expertly tie Goren's hands behind him, before looping the rope round his waist and forearms, slipping the knot tight and binding his ankles with the end. Rafiq had all the trappings of a male model but the detachment of an assassin and Goren wondered where Nicole had found her latest lackey and if the man knew what happened to her previous lovers.**

**"You just happened to have two ropes?" Goren jeered as they worked. "I thought you weren't expecting Eames?"**

**"It's a well-known fact that a lady's handbag is kitted out for any emergency," Nicole laughed as if they were friends sharing a joke. She stepped back to view her handiwork, then smiled into his eyes. "Imagine what her overnight bag is capable of storing."**

**Strolling over to Goren's bookcase, Nicole reached high to pull out his well-thumbed copy of 'The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes' and fished out a slender vial slipped between the book's spine and the bound pages. Goren could have looked amongst the books and eventually discovered it, but there was no guarantee he would ever have found it in time. **

**Goren's heart raced; he wanted to yell at her to hurry, to give Alex the antidote before it was too late, but the bitch just looked at him and calmly smiled, mocking the urgency that shook his body.**

**"Rafiq?" Nicole held out her hand and GQ retrieved a slim black case from his coat pocket and handed it to her. Opening it, Nicole selected and assembled a syringe with the ampoule she retrieved from Goren's book. Working efficiently, she injected the serum into Alex' exposed arm and returned the used syringe to its case. She was not only very familiar with her tools of torture but meticulous as well. **

**"Won't be long now, Bobby," Nicole said, "and she'll be right as rain. I'm glad you cooperated. I didn't really want her to karck it. Much more fun to have her as spectator."**

**"A spectator to what?" It didn't matter what she had planned for him, but if she harmed Alex again in any way, he _would_ kill her.**

**"Our show, of course. Rafiq and I have been watching since this arvo for you to come home from work. I was waiting on your bed but you spoiled that plan with an unexpected guest. But I always have alternate plans and this one will be just as much fun."**

**Alex was stirring, moaning softly and calling his name. "N… Nicole's… here, Bobby. Be careful." She lifted her head, eyes opening a crack. They widened as she focused on the other woman and Goren steeled himself for the moment when Alex would become aware of his predicament.**

**"Take it easy, Eames," Goren said, not wanting to alarm her, but he feared he had brought her back from death's door to a worse fate. "How do you feel?" Keeping his voice neutral, he couldn't let Nicole see his immense relief that Alex was recovering.**

**"She should be feeling as sick as a dog," Nicole chuckled. She flicked her head at Rafiq, directing him to station himself on the sofa. The man settled into the seat, one leg crossed over his other knee, his fingers lightly tapping the expensive material of his trousers. **

**"Better… than I was before," Alex said, her words slurring. She was squinting at Goren, but his state of undress wasn't yet registering on her. "What did she inject into me?"**

**"Funnel Web spider venom," Nicole said, bending low to gloat into Alex' face. "The little buggers are unique to the Sydney suburbs of Australia, which is why your New York hospitals won't have worked out which anti-venom was needed in time."**

**"Why are you here?" Alex asked, concentrating on the other woman. "Don't you ever… tire of yanking Bobby's chain? Why don't you… get a hobby... like everyone else?"**

**"She's bored," Goren said in an attempt to ease Alex's expected anxiety, but he knew better. Something was different about Nicole. She'd shed her British polish, having dropped several Australian colloquialisms – something she'd never have done if she were still playing a role. She'd finally abandoned her Elizabeth Hitchens persona and was truly Nicole Wallace. The Nicole that had murdered tourists for sport, drug-runners for profit, several lovers for revenge and her own child in the name of jealousy. **

**"Bobby! My God!" Alex gasped, finally realizing he was unclothed. Goren frowned at her slightly, warning her not to give Nicole the gratification of reacting further. He wasn't so much embarrassed for himself as for her. And the guilt he carried made it difficult for him to meet her eyes. If Nicole hadn't had this personal vendetta for him, Alex would never have been subjected to Nicole's freak show.**

**"This _is_ my hobby, Alex," Nicole said, walking back to Goren. "I never tire of Bobby. And I've decided to take our interaction to a new level." She licked her lips as she ran her hands slowly across his shoulders and down his chest.**

**Goren locked his gaze on her, drawing back his lips in revulsion.**

**Nicole blew him a kiss. "Looks like I'm gonna beat you to him, Alex."**

**oOo**

**TBC …**

_**A/N: Don't blame me for 'defrocking' Goren. I was channel-surfing the TV recently and happened upon "The Cell" in which a younger VD'O thought it was challenging to accept a role that had him naked, suspended by meat hooks through his skin, over a dead woman's body and getting off on it. Yuk! But I couldn't get the visual out of my head either. :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

**Synopsis: Alex stares helpless as Nicole continues to taunt Bobby…**

**oOo**

**Chapter Two**

**Fighting nausea, Alex felt the ghosts of a receding horrendous pain chase themselves around her head as she struggled to not succumb to unconsciousness. **

**Pushing her mind to piece together what she remembered, Alex was aware she was bound to a hard chair. But she recalled sitting on Bobby's sofa waiting for him, Bobby making coffee, someone grabbing her from behind, pain, excruciating pain, then a swirling tide taking some of the pain away, and Bobby talking to someone. Alex needed to warn him. Warn him about… _Nicole!_**

**"N… Nicole's… here, Bobby. Be careful." **

**Bobby was concerned about her, Alex, and she tried to remember what had happened. There had been a sharp sting when she was attacked, the sting of a hypodermic needle, and then she had succumbed to the pain. But the hurt was lessening, and she could hear voices. Bobby being angry at Nicole. And Alex was angry too. She fixed a glare of contempt on the woman. Damn bitch never would leave Bobby alone. **

**"Why are you here?" Alex asked, concentrating on the other woman. "Don't you ever… tire of yanking Bobby's chain? Why don't you… get a hobby... like everyone else?"**

**Shaking the silver haze from her eyes, she looked for and found Bobby. He was tied to a chair too and, _My God!_ He was naked, more vulnerable to Nicole's favorite pastime of taunting him than ever before. Alex cringed at the humiliation he must be feeling but he was warning her not to give Nicole the satisfaction of seeing her reaction.**

**The haze cleared and Alex lifted her chin to meet the threat that always lurked whenever Nicole materialized in their lives.**

**"Well, Nicole," Bobby shouted. "What now? Ya think you've got me where you want me?" His lips curled back in a snarl and Alex shivered at the latent savagery in the man she knew could be as gentle as a kitten. **

**"Bobby, shouting to alert your neighbors is not a safe response to your predicament," Nicole said, moving into Alex' line of vision as she closed in on Goren. "Rafiq will have to do something about it and it's not fair to Alex to save her from a toxin only to die by the bullet."**

**Oh, shit, thought Alex. It was worse than she thought. Taking a deep gulp of air, she used all of her resolve to straighten in the chair and look around. A good-looking young man was lounging on Bobby's sofa, a Glock and silencer balanced lightly in the hand resting on his ankle where it crossed his other knee. He smiled at Alex and dipped his dark head in greeting. Uneasiness slithered down her spine as she considered his purpose there.**

**"Ya think Rafiq's gonna be impressed you're in control when you had to use torture," Bobby said, indicating Alex, "to subdue me? Ropes to keep me subjugated?" He violently pulled against the ties and Alex winced at the thought of the damage the hemp must be doing to his bare skin. "And do you really think taking away my 'trappings' is gonna turn me into a blubbering heap?"**

**Sitting directly opposite Bobby and tethered to her own chair, Alex tried to focus on his face but she was too aware of the naked magnificence of his big body straining against the rigging that bound him. She yearned to help him somehow, ruing being as helpless as he.**

**"Maybe not," Nicole said, pulling up a chair next to Bobby, grinning with pleasure. "But it has made you angry, and that's a start. Careful, Bobby. You start losing control when you get mad."**

**You're wrong, thought Alex. Bobby turns on the anger when he wants to run rings around his perp and mess with theirhead. **

**"And you lose control when you resort to brute force," Bobby said, not giving an inch. "Isn't that what your father taught you?"**

**Nicole crowed as she ran a hand up Bobby's leg. Alex watched in helpless fascination as the woman's finger drew circles on his bare knee. **

**"Bobby, we've _been _down this road. Don't you think it's a little unimaginative of you to use old material?" Nicole gripped his inner thigh, hard, and Bobby jerked. Alex' mouth dried at the powerlessness he must be feeling. **

**"Or is it just plain desperation?" Nicole asked.**

**"Yeah, it's desperation." Bobby's voice was strident in the hushed room. No street noise penetrated the closed windows and no sounds could be heard from the corridor or other tenants. Alex feared the heavy paneling of Bobby's apartment was too effective as soundproofing. "Desperation to be rid of you, Nicole. Rid of you for good. Ya know, you're really starting to piss me off."**

**Nicole gave an exaggerated shudder. "How rude! And now you're trying to get at me using childish taunts. You're losing your touch, Bobby. Maybe you'll like mine better." Her hand feathered over his groin and Bobby growled deep within his chest.**

**"Not as rude as home invasion." Floored by the horror of Bobby being at Nicole's mercy, Alex formed the words but they came out as nothing more than a undignified croak. She licked her lips and tried again. "How'd you get in?"**

**Nicole fixed Alex with a calculating stare. "What would you say if I told you Bobby gave me a key?"**

**"I'd say 'crap' and if I had the energy, I'd spit in your face."**

**Nicole laughed joyously and laid her head on Bobby's shoulder to watch Alex squirm at the intimacy. Forcing herself not to react, Alex smiled sweetly back.**

**"Bobby, you really should teach Alex better manners," Nicole said, straightening from his shoulder. Her hand strayed to his midriff, trailing a line across his waist, dipping into his belly-button as she went. Goren's stomach muscles quivered violently. "I don't know how you can work with her all day."**

**"How _did _you get in, Nicole?" Bobby asked, his words a hiss through clenched teeth. **

**"I suppose this is your ploy to buy time now." Nicole sized Bobby up and pouted. "Keep me talking. It so happens I'm marking time myself, until the occupants of the building settle in for the night. So, to answer your question, I learnt from the best. Bernard Fremont taught me all I needed to know."**

**"And then you killed him."**

**"You guessed it was me?" She pulled back in glee. "How quaint of you! You saw him, Bobby. I had to put him out of his misery. After we parted ways in that Thai jail, he kept trying to replace me, but naturally found he couldn't. Taking new women in tow, making them dye their hair, molding them into my look. I saved him the trouble of his useless search."**

**"When did you first realize you were insane, Nicole?" Bobby asked the question matter-of-factly, and Alex breathed easier. If she had been in doubt before, she was reassured now. Familiar with Bobby's deliberate changes of strategy, Alex recognized that he was maintaining the situation.**

**"Now, Bobby, that's not nice," Nicole said. "And such a bad start to our holidays together. I suppose it would be prudent to tell you about our trip away?" **

**"Please," Alex nodded, forcing a calmness to cover the alarm that Nicole's plans were long-term ones.**

**"We're going to my estate in… Well, no need to tell you where. Rafiq and I will take you there later. And we're going to be playing Mums and Dads." Nicole's mouth curved up in pleasure. **

**Alex tensed at the slightly crazy slant to Nicole's smile.**

**Nicole swung her gaze from Bobby to include Alex. "You see, Alex, Bobby and I never had much of a role-model for a Dad. Both of ours were deficient in certain ways; ways that are important to a child. So I thought it would be a good idea to revisit that and make it right." **

**Lifting her hand to Bobby's face, Nicole stroked his cheek. Alex saw Bobby's jaw grind under his skin in an effort not to give Nicole the satisfaction of pulling his face away from her touch.**

**"Bobby will be the Daddy," Nicole said, her voice breathy and disturbed. "He knows how _not_ to do it, and so maybe he will be healed if he works through how it should be done. His father never gave Bobby's mother any love." She rubbed her face against his. "Only gave her heartache. Bobby realizes a woman has needs; requirements his father didn't fulfill." **

**"I don't want healing," Bobby gritted. "But if I did, I don't need _you_ to do it."**

**"That being said, it _will_ happen," Nicole promised in a voice as hard and grating as a nail on steel. Her hand slipped from his face and she balanced both wrists on his shoulders, wrapping her hands around the back of his neck. Pulling his face to hers, Nicole looked directly into his eyes. Alex drew blood on her bottom lip as she watched Bobby's neck shudder, trying to pull out of her hold.**

**"You'll be a good Daddy," Nicole said, in a plaintive tone as she moved onto his lap. "You'll be good to the Mummy. You'll love the Mummy as she wants to be loved – _needs _to be loved…" Nicole resisted Bobby's attempt to free himself and placed her lips on his. Alex saw his body go rigid and vibrate from the revulsion he had to be feeling. "…and you'll be good to the little girl." Nicole placed her cheek against Bobby's and looked at Alex.**

**"Alex, you'll be my Mummy, won't you? You'll love Daddy like he wants to be loved? Give him what he wants? And in the morning, I'll jump into bed with you both and we'll snuggle up and be a happy family."**

**Alex' jaw went slack as she stared at the madwoman curled up on Bobby's lap: her arms wrapped around his shoulders, head tucked into his neck, gazing coyly at Alex as she asked the question from a sick mind.**

**"Won't it be fun?" Nicole said in a little girl's voice.**

**oOo **

**TBC …**


	3. Chapter 3

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**Synopsis: Logan-Barek are back. Bobby-Alex lovers still need to read the Logan-Barek scenes I'm afraid, else you'll miss some important plot clues.**_

**oOo**

**Chapter Three**

**"How the hell are we gonna hide this from everyone?" Logan worried as he and Barek hurriedly dressed. **

**Retrieving his sweat pants from the floor of the precinct's locker room, Logan put them on in lieu of his daytime trousers. The sweater was still lying on the bench, where he'd tossed it before Carolyn had stripped him and had her way with him. He smiled at the thought. He quickly learned she was a woman who knew her own mind and went after what she wanted. He never guessed it would be him.**

**"We simply keep our business to ourselves," Carolyn said evenly. **

**Logan envied her composure. He was still a mass of firing hormones. The sex with her had been great. Too great. He wanted more and if he was lucky enough to be offered more, he didn't know how they were going to pull off a continuing relationship and not get hauled over the coals for it. Worse still, transferred.**

**"Hey, I can keep my mouth shut, but we work with Bobby Goren, remember? He can sniff out your secrets by reading the pores in your skin."**

**Carolyn laughed and lightly touched Logan's bare midriff. The feel of her warm fingers on his still-sensitized skin grabbed at his groin. Freezing in the midst of pulling his sweater over his head, he threw caution to the winds and pulled her against him. **

**"Geezus, Holy… What're you doin' to me, Barek?" Swooping down on her mouth, Logan drank her in, shoulders hunching to mold her to him. It felt so good he didn't know how he was going to let her go home.**

**Coming up for air, Barek sighed, her eyes bright as she looked into his. "Bobby will be circumspect. As will Alex. Believe me. And if I'm not mistaken, they are either in the same boat now or very soon will be."**

**Logan shook his head, framing her face in his hands then running his fingers through her silken hair. "I think you're wrong. Bobby is too married to his work to have any energy left over for an illicit affair. 'Specially with his part–." He groaned as Barek stood on tiptoe to nuzzle his neck.**

**"Now who's fixating on the darling duo of Major Case Squad?" Carolyn asked, tonguing the hollow of his throat. **

**"Geezus, I just got dressed," Logan moaned.**

**"Hey, this is your fault," she said, pulling back. "I never fully realized what a handful you were until today." She grinned impishly, another very un-Barek mannerism. Logan was enjoying bringing out the carefree spirit in her. **

**"You provoked me," Carolyn said. "I had to investigate my discovery. And here we are." Logan growled as she sought and found that piece of anatomy now. "And it's even _more_ interesting at the moment."**

**Lifting her off her feet, Logan pulled her up against him. "We're gonna do this again, aren't we?" he asked, burying his face in her neck.**

**oOo**

**Goren dragged in breaths through grating teeth, the harsh sounds mixing with Nicole's little mews of pleasure as she rubbed her face against his body. Devastated that Alex was witnessing his subjugation at Nicole's hands, Bobby pushed thoughts of his partner out of his head as he fixated on the light fitting suspended from his ceiling, clamping down on his body's reaction to Nicole's touch.**

**"Daddy feels so good," Nicole murmured, nuzzling his shoulder. She shifted on his lap and he grunted as her knee knocked his groin. Heaving against the rope that bound him to the chair, he dislodged her but she scrambled back, clutching tighter.**

**"Don't, Daddy," Nicole said plaintively. "Don't push me away. I'll be good. I'll do better." She hugged him tightly, then slithered off his lap to crouch at his feet, rubbing her head on his legs. Goren swore as she butted his groin, straining till he felt the rope lacerate his skin. Powerless to prevent her abuse, he drew upon his contempt for this woman to remain impassive.**

**He could hear Alex moaning and he shrank inside at the thought of what she must be thinking. But when she began to groan and weakly thrash upon her chair, Goren knew something was seriously wrong.**

**"…Bobby…" Alex' voice, desperate and pain-filled, punched through his own distress. **

**"Nicole!" Goren yelled, throwing his body against the rope again. "Alex. What's wrong with Alex?"**

**Nicole lifted her head and pushed the hair from her face. The crazed glitter in her eyes seemed to fade as she looked around in confusion.**

**"Nicole!" Goren schooled his panic into a more coaxing tone. "Nicole. Something's wrong with Alex. You need to see what it is." He swallowed hard. "Daddy… Daddy wants you to check on Alex."**

**"Bobby, you idiot! Why are you talking like that? I'm not a child." Nicole curled her lip at him, straightened and moved over to Alex. Pulling back Eames' head, Nicole peered into her face. "She's in a lot of pain again. I can give her another shot of anti-venom, but we should be moving on now anyway."**

**Goren frowned at the difference in Nicole, the switch back to sanity from her earlier delusion of being 'Daddy's little girl'. That lapse was more disturbing than Nicole in bitch mode. **

**"Do something for her, Nicole!" His body quaked as he disguised his fear for Alex' safety in anger. "There's not a rope in existence that will hold me back if she dies."**

**"I can help Alex," Nicole said, her mouth grim, "but I need something from you, Bobby. More co-operation to begin with. You're going to walk from your apartment to Rafiq's car like a lamb, because if you don't, Alex will suffer. Do I make myself clear?"**

**"Perfectly," he gritted. "But I'll clarify something as well. You'd better have your avenues of escape air-tight, Nicole, because the minute you let your guard down, I'll have you. And this time, you won't be slipping through my fingers."**

**"I'm all afraid, Bobby." Nicole rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Rafiq? Go search the bedroom for some tweeds to throw on Bobby."**

**"Tweeds?" Rafiq spoke for the first time, his voice deep and cultured.**

**"Civvies, street-clothes, sweats. Whatever." She smiled at Goren. "We don't want him giving little old ladies on the stairs sensory overload, do we?" She sashayed up to him and bent down to hold her eyes level with his. "And one more thing, sunshine. I want you to kiss me, and mean it. Do that and I'll help Alex with another injection. But any half-hearted effort from you will mean a minimal effort on my part for Alex."**

**Nicole put her lips against his and waited. Goren considered his options. Head-butting her into unconsciousness, sinking his teeth into her and ripping out a chunk of flesh, even spitting in her face would give him a modicum of satisfaction, but he knew any retaliation on his part would mean Alex would suffer.**

**The sinews in his neck ached from tension as he moved his mouth on hers, clinically going through the motions while his eyes bored into hers. Nicole rested her hands on his shoulders and pushed into him. He allowed her to part his mouth, but he could have been kissing a blown-up sex doll, given his lack of emotion in the task.**

**Nicole pulled back in disgust. "Alex isn't missing out on anything," she said. "We're really going to have to work on that, aren't we?"**

**oOo**

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M **_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

**Chapter Four**

**Drumming his fingers on his desk, Logan looked around the squad room for what had to be the hundredth time. Checking his watch, he noticed the hands hadn't moved far off their location since last time he looked. **

**Barek was over an hour late to work this morning and he had no idea why. After succumbing to another round of sexual calisthenics last night in the locker room, they had reluctantly parted company and gone home to their own apartments. Logan tried to talk Carolyn into spending the night with him, but she suggested it would be a bad start to keeping their change in status circumspect.**

**She hadn't said anything about not showing up for work though. He looked in at Deakins' office and saw his CO on the phone. Hoping it was Barek explaining her absence, Logan jumped up from his desk and strode over to Deakins' office. After a perfunctory knock and a beckoning wave from his CO, Logan let himself in.**

**"Fine, yeah. Right then." Deakins hung up the phone and looked questioningly at Logan.**

**"Barek?" Logan asked, trying not to look eager.**

**"No, why." Deakins' brows knitted. "She's not with you?"**

**Logan shook his head, worried. "Nope. Hasn't come in yet. Not answering her cell either."**

**"Ring her at home if you want. That was Eames. She and Bobby are following a lead on a pyromaniac that's been operating out of the borough with an MO similar to your crime scene from yesterday. It's gonna take them out of the office for the day. She wants you and Barek to pick up the slack on the building owner's contacts."**

**"_If_ Barek comes in–"**

**Deakins nodded past him. "That looks like her now. Looks fine to–"**

**Logan whipped round and was out of the office before Deakins finished the sentence. Hurrying back to their desks, he grabbed Carolyn's arm, preventing her from sitting down.**

**"Are you all right?" he asked, urgency making him reckless. "What happened? Was there an accident?"**

**Barek looked pointedly at his hand on her arm. "Cool it, Mike," she said, her voice low but firm. Her gaze held his meaningfully until he got the hint.**

**"Sorry," he mumbled, letting her go. "I was… concerned."**

**She smiled slightly. "Thank you for your… concern, but I'm fine. And sorry I'm late. I overslept." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I felt so good, I slept like a baby. Best night's sleep since I can remember. Does that please you?"**

**He grinned. "Yeah, it does."**

**"Good. Now go sit at your desk like a good boy and act… normal. For you, anyway." **

**She grinned back at him and Logan felt as if someone had opened the office blinds and let the sunshine in. He looked around guiltily in case someone was watching them.**

**Barek rolled her eyes. "Mike. You're doing it again. Just act like you do every other day. Scowl at me. Drink my coffee when I leave my desk and steal a bite of my muffin when I'm not looking, but for God's sake, don't look so damned pleased with yourself."**

**"Can't help it, Barek." He grinned self-consciously. "I _feel_ damned pleased with myself. I feel different. Happier. Content. More centered than I've ever been." **

**Heading toward his side of their desks, Logan landed in his chair and pushed himself back so that it balanced on two legs. Swinging a heel up on his desk at the same time, he crossed the other leg over an ankle, supported the back of his head with his hands and settled in to look at her. Just look at her. Belatedly remembering, he fixed a deep scowl on his face as he watched her sip her coffee.**

**'Where's mine?" he asked.**

**Mouth twisting, she handed hers over to him.**

**Drinking a large gulp of it, he watched her straighten some files on her desk.**

**"Quit it, Mike!" she hissed.**

**He raised his brows but kept on looking. **

**"Goren and Eames aren't coming in," he said as an afterthought.**

**"What!" **

**"You must've been right." He grinned, then remembered to frown again. "Only _they_ decided to keep it goin' and took the day off to do it. Now, why didn't _we _think of that?"**

**"That's not fair," she mumbled. "They'd better be careful though."**

**"Oh, they're careful. So careful in fact they are delegating their work to _us._"**

**Eyes widening, Barek's brows shot up.**

**"We've been instructed, by Eames," Logan said, mirroring her reaction, "to follow up on more contacts for the building owner." His chair came down on all fours as he picked up a file and threw it to her.**

**Carolyn scowled at him before opening it and flicking through its contents. "Wendell doesn't have any other living relatives, except for a sister-in-law. Alicia Mateus. I've got the address if you've got the time." **

**Logan leaned over his desk toward her. "Always got the time for you, Barek. 'Specially now."**

**"I don't know what I see in you," she said, pushing back her chair.**

**Logan joined Carolyn on her side of the desk, tucking his hands in his pockets and leaning in as he walked past her. **

**"You told me last night it was what you _felt_ on me."**

**oOo**

**As promised, Logan let Carolyn drive, and was glad that had been part of the typing deal. It gave him more opportunity to sit and stare at her and define for himself what it was about her that had sneaked up and grabbed him.**

**"Your hair," he said, lounging back in the corner of the passenger seat.**

**"Huh?" Her head flicked round to look at him before returning to the traffic ahead.**

**"I like your hair."**

**"That's nice."**

**"And your eyelashes. Long, spiky eyelashes. Nice."**

**Carolyn's mouth twisted.**

**"You gotta work on your mouth though. Very kissable, but it does horrible stuff when you're annoyed. And the Lord knows how often you get annoyed at me."**

**Carolyn pasted a false grin on her mouth, but kept watching the traffic.**

**"And you have skin that looks like a rich cappuccino, feels like warm dough and tastes like musk."**

**Her head spun back to him. "Warm dough, huh?"**

**He held out his hands in apology. "I'm no poet, Barek. Live with it." He mouthed a kiss. "Now, say something nice about me."**

**Sighing heavily, she turned to the front again. "I've always had a thing for cocky Irish sons-of-bitches."**

**"Ugh." Logan winced theatrically. "She's getting literal on me."**

**Carolyn's head snapped round. "Oh, geez, Mike, I'm sorry, I didn't mean–"**

**He waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, it's okay. But is that really the best you can do?"**

**She sighed again. "I like your self-assurance. Your _'I don't care if you don't like me. Get over it.' _attitude. You've got a personable mug and a great body which you know how to use to the satisfaction of all. I like the vulnerable little boy inside that can be naughty or be hurt, depending on how you're approached. Will that do?"**

**Logan pursed his lips. "Yeah. For starters. I think there's a compliment in there somewhere." He sat up, glancing out the window. "This has to be the place." Checking out the well-preserved brownstone, his gaze took in the bloom-filled window boxes, fresh paint, and ornate fence and hand rails and knew money lived there.**

**"Let's get this over with and then we can take an extended lunch hour," he said, opening his car door and winking.**

**"Where do you suggest, Mike?" Carolyn gripped the steering wheel to face him. "In the back of the car? Both of our apartments are on the other side of town."**

**Logan leaned back into the cabin, his hand holding the door open. "I can get creative, Barek. Just you wait and see." **

**Closing the door before she could answer, he waited for her on the pavement, then tripped lightly up the stairs. Knocking on the door, Logan stood back, hand ready to produce his badge.**

**Accustomed to waiting for residents to take their time in opening their doors to callers, Logan amused himself by checking out Carolyn's spiky lashes and the way they shadowed her cheeks. He never realized how fascinating eyelashes could be.**

**With a heavy click, the door opened and Logan looked up. **

**The blood drained from his head to his toes, his hand freezing on his badge, squeezing the metal into the leather until it hurt.**

**"Alicia…"**

_**The heavy oak door adorned with what Logan bet was a twenty-four carat gold knob and knocker opened to reveal a pretty long-haired blonde dressed in the latest fashion of ruffled collar and cuffs and figure-hugging polyester. She couldn't have been more than eighteen and he doubted she would be of any use to their investigation.**_

**_Logan raised a brow at his partner and turned back to the girl. "Excuse me, miss. Detective Mike Logan. Twenty-seventh Precinct." He flashed his badge at her and nodded at his partner. "This is Sergeant Max Greevy. Are your parents at home?"_**

_**The girl shook her head, the blow-dried waves of her hair falling softly about her shoulders. "I'm sorry, officers, they're overseas." Her voice was surprisingly mature, melodic but firm, not in the least awed by two detectives at her doorstep.**_

_**Logan frowned. "Are you alone?" If she were, she should have answered the door with the safety chain on.**_

_**"May I see your partner's badge before I answer that question?" she said, proving she was more canny than he thought. The absence of the safety chain surprised him more.**_

_**Greevy pulled out his badge and held it up and the girl nodded. "I'm alone at the moment, gentlemen, so you'll forgive me if I don't invite you in. My brother is out, but he will be returning this evening sometime."**_

**_"You're the daughter of the house?"_**

_**"That's correct."**_

**_"In the er, absence of your parents," Greevy said gently, "Detective Logan and I need to speak with you."_**

_**"Then I'm afraid it will have to be in the offices of my family's law firm."**_

_**"You're gonna lawyer up?" Logan asked in astonishment. "You don't even know why we're here."**_

_**She arched a brow at him. "I have strict instructions from my parents not to speak to any law enforcement without the presence of our lawyers."**_

**_She didn't strike Logan as the meek and mild type, despite her petiteness. "You always do what your parents tell you?" he asked._**

_**The girl smiled and went from pretty to breathtakingly beautiful, her eyes lighting with a twinkle that seemed to focus solely on him. "Only when I consider it wise to do so, Detective Mike Logan."**_

_**oOo**_

**_Less than thirty-six hours later, Alicia was sitting outside her home in the passenger seat of Mike's car looking up at him with stars in her eyes._**

_**"I enjoyed the evening, Mike. Thank you for introducing me to the Yankees, even though they don't seem to be very good ball-players. Do you always take a first date to a baseball game?"**_

_**He smiled down at her, nestled in the crook of his arm. "Only the ones that go to the opera and ballet once a week. Oh, and the art gallery every other week."**_

_**She put a hand to her stomach. "And what did you say they put in hotdogs? Minced–?"**_

_**"Don't go there again. Please." He laughed, putting up a hand and she took it, placing it against her cheek.**_

**_With that and the raised invitation of her mouth, Mike Logan wasn't going to disappoint a lady. Bending down, he placed his lips on hers and waited for her reaction. Instinct warned him to take this one slowly. She was older than he had at first guessed, but experience told him that, although Alicia had just turned twenty and been introduced into high society for nearly four years, she was still a virgin. _**

**_That didn't so much amaze him as the fact that the daughter of a New York Circuit Judge was here in his car, inviting him, one of New York's youngest Detectives, to kiss her. He'd hate to think what her parents would say when they got back from overseas. Greevy had already hauled his ass over the coals when Logan had casually mentioned he was taking her out, but Mike figured his older partner was just sour that being married with three kids prevented he himself from grabbing opportunity when it presented itself._**

**_Alicia's hand behind Logan's head encouraged him to explore deeper and she responded tentatively, then with more confidence. She was a quick learner and he let the lesson go further by pulling her more fully to him, feeling her body vibrate against his and letting her feel his own need._**

**_"Mikey–" Her fingers fluttered at his waist, dug in, then grew more adventurous. Pushing him into the corner of his car, Alicia dug her hand into the waistband of his jeans._**

**_Grunting, Mike grabbed her arm and gently pulled her hand out. Firmly pushing her back, he held her at arm's length. "Whoa, Alicia. Slow down. Not like this. I'm past doing it in a car and you deserve better."_**

_**"Let's go inside," she breathed, straining to get back to him. **_

**_He shook his head. "You got a housekeeper in there and I'm bettin' your parents don't know about me yet. I'm not risking your father gettin' me fired from my job when he finds out I've slept with his daughter."_**

_**Alicia pouted. "Mom and Dad let me have boyfriends when they're away."**_

**_"_Boy_friends, maybe. Lovers, no." Logan regretfully kissed her trembling lips and leaned across her to push open the door. "I'll call you tomorrow. Good night and…" He smiled to lessen the sting of his harsh, but necessary, dismissal. "…sweet dreams, princess." _**

**_oOo _**

_**Despite his deliberate cruelty, Alicia continued to see Logan on a regular basis. He managed to skirt around her growing sexual demands on him, holding fast to the belief that he was too smart to deflower Judges' daughters.**_

**_It worked for him for over a week, but Logan hadn't counted on her using her family's law firm to extract his home address. After Greevy dropped him at his apartment at the end of a grueling day of hitting the pavements questioning possible witnesses, Mike opened his door to find Alicia perched on his sofa watching his television and drinking his beer._**

_**He forwent the instinctive 'what are you doing here?' knowing full well what she was doing there. She was dressed in a black lace teddy and nothing else. Upon seeing him, Alicia squealed, dumped the beer on the coffee table and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.**_

_**He accepted the kiss, even returned it – hell, who wouldn't? She was beautiful, she was half-naked and she was in his apartment, but he put a stop to her eager hands as they started working at the buttons of his shirt.**_

_**"Alicia. Don't. I gotta take you home."**_

_**"Mikey," she pleaded. "Don't be mean. I did what you asked. I told my parents about you."**_

_**"They're back?" he asked, alarm reinforcing his belief that she shouldn't be here.**_

_**"No, silly. They're still on their cruise. I rang them. Shore to ship."**_

_**"And you told them you were seein' a cop."**_

_**"Yes."**_

_**"And they're okay with that."**_

_**"Yes. They want me to be happy."**_

_**Suspicion made him cautious. "Alicia. Let's face it. You're a twenty year old virgin, which means you've lived a sheltered life. I'm guessing your father and mother vetted all your boyfriends and made you keep a curfew. Now you're tryin' to tell me they're happy you've been let loose in New York and dating a cop while they're thousands of miles away and unable to er, keep you pure."**_

_**"Mikey," she chided, "don't be so… Puritan." **_

**_Alicia raised her hands to the straps of her lace teddy and peeled them from her shoulders. Logan's eyes followed the movement, and when she pushed the bodice to her waist, squirming her hips as she did so, he forgot what his argument was._**

_**oOo**_

_**After securing the condom, Logan rolled back to push the sweat-dampened hair from Alicia's cheek. He kissed her panting mouth and pulled back to study her face. "You ready?" he asked. "Are you sure?"**_

_**Her eyes were wide with wonder. "You mean, there's more?"**_

_**He smiled. "Yeah, there's more. More for you. And a little somethin' for me this time."**_

_**Alicia nodded vigorously. "I'm sure."**_

_**Logan positioned himself between her already lax legs. Sliding in gently, he paused, waiting for her to accommodate him. She whimpered and he tenderly kissed her. "It's all right," he said. "Relax."**_

_**She made a sound that was half-laugh, half-pant. "Relax? After what… you just did… I'm so relaxed… I feel like a blob of jelly."**_

_**He smiled. "That's good. Now, what would you say if I said it gets better? A lot better?"**_

**_Eyes wide, her mouth formed a perfect 'O'. "I don't believe it."_**

_**"Allow me to make you eat those words."**_

**Now sixteen years older but more beautiful than he remembered and, judging by the surname of Mateus, married, Alicia invited Logan and Barek into her home.**

**"Mikey," she breathed, "I don't believe it."**

**"Alicia," Logan said again, because he didn't know what else to say.**

**"You look wonderful." She reached up and kissed him. Not the chaste kiss of a friend, but the lingering kiss of a long-time lover. "I didn't realize until now how much I've missed you."**

**"Ms Mateus." Barek stepped in between them. "I wonder if we could ask you a few questions."**

**"Why, of course, and then Mike and I have so much to catch up on." She laid her hand on his arm and led him into the den of her apartment. "Fancy you walking through my door after all these years. What time do you finish work? You can call in on your way home."**

**Walking the other side of Logan, Barek looked meaningfully at him.**

**Logan was an expert at Carolyn's non-verbal signals by now, if nothing else. "Alicia… I'm sorry. That's not gonna happen. I'm er, seeing someone."**

**Alicia laughed, drawing him down beside her on the sofa. "Well, of course, I don't doubt it. Good-looking guy like you. But your girlfriend won't mind if I borrow you for one night. You needn't even tell her if you're afraid of what she might think."**

**"Um," he glanced nervously at Barek, "that's not possible. She's… actually, listening."**

**"Listen–?" Alicia's eyes swung up to Barek, still standing. "Oh, Mike, your partner? Is that wise?"**

**"Dating Judge Haynes' daughter wasn't exactly wise, but I did it."**

**Alicia laughed. "So you did." She put a hand on his thigh. "And very brave it was of you, too. I've never forgiven my father for throwing you out of our house that night and shipping me off to Switzerland. Nor my brother for ratting us out."**

**Logan swallowed hard and avoided looking at Barek.**

**But Carolyn was pointedly watching him, not missing the nuance. "And how did your brother find out about you two dating?" Barek asked innocently.**

**Alicia looked at Logan and smiled. "How else do brothers manage to find out? He caught us in my bed. Mike didn't want to be there, but I was very… persuasive." She laughed, a melodic trill that Logan remembered well. "I swore my brother to secrecy, but of course, you might know, Detective Barek, what brothers are like. Couldn't wait to spill the news when our parents came home."**

**"I see. I wonder, Ms Mateus, if you would mind providing me with a glass of water."**

**Alicia hesitated, then smiled and winked at Logan. "I understand. Your… partner wants to talk to you alone, Mike. I hope I haven't made things difficult for you." She left the room gracefully and Logan watched her go without realizing he was staring.**

**"If I could steal a minute of your attention, Detective Logan?" Barek said testily.**

**"Huh? Yeah? Sure." He swung his gaze back to her.**

**"While you've been feted by an old girlfriend, I've been studying the room. I want you to have a close look at the photo on the lamp table."**

**Logan squinted at a small portrait of two blonde women, arm in arm, and a man standing a little aside from them. One of the blondes was Alicia and the other… "Holy shit!" Logan's heart did a flip in his chest.**

**"Isn't that Bobby's nemesis, Nicole Wallace?" Barek asked. "The one we've been hearing so much about?"**

**"Yeah. And that's Gavin Haynes beside her. Ex-husband and attempted murder victim."**

**"What's the bet Gavin Haynes is your old girlfriend's brother?"**

**Logan whistled through his teeth. "No bet, I'd lose my money. She's the daughter of Judge Haynes. I only met the brother that once–"**

**"…in your girlfriend's bedroom. I can imagine it was a harrowing experience you wanted to forget."**

**Logan's eyes dropped. "I never even got the connection."**

**"Plot thickens, Sherlock?"**

**Logan stood up from the sofa and went to the window, his fingers pulling at his bottom lip as he thought this through. A noise behind him alerted him to Alicia's return.**

**"Here you are, Detective," Alicia trilled, entering the room with a crystal glass. "Did you manage to sort things out with Mike? I'm sorry if I came on strong before, but we were, well, rather close. I didn't want to give him up, and I could have killed my brother for telling Father, but…" She sighed. "I'm afraid I did deserve it though. I wasn't totally honest with Mike either."**

**"Heh?" Logan dug his hands in his pockets.**

**"Remember the night in your apartment?" Alicia smiled. "Our first… time together? I told you I'd rung my parents and they were okay with it."**

**"You lied," he said simply.**

**"I'm afraid so."**

**"Ya think I didn't know?"**

**"Um, well, you still made love–"**

**"I was weak, Alicia." Logan shifted on his feet, embarrassed by discussing it. "That's all. Not the first time or the last time for me either. I don't have much resistance when it comes to…" He glanced at Barek and trailed off, uncomfortable with the glare she was giving him.**

**"Ms Mateus, if you don't mind," Barek said, turning her back on Logan, "I wonder if we could forgo the trip down memory lane and prevail upon you to answer some questions. Your connection with Arthur Wendell. You are his sister-in-law?"**

**"Yes, that's right." Alicia sat herself down on the sofa again and looked up at them, her face lit with an open directness. "Arthur is my first and late husband's brother. I've since remarried. And divorced." **

**Alicia directed the last statement at Logan. If she were hinting that she was available, Mike had the feeling he was going to pay for it later when Barek got him alone. **

**"We don't keep in touch, if that's what you're asking," Alicia added helpfully.**

**"No, actually," Barek murmured, "he was a casualty of a fire in the building he owned yesterday. I'm sorry to be the bearer of disturbing news."**

**"Oh, I see. Thank you. That is tragic, but…well, we weren't close. I can't really help you with much information."**

**"You have a closer relationship with your brother's ex-wife?" Barek indicated the photo highlighting the two women with linked arms.**

**"Elizabeth?" She laughed. "Well, yes, we _were_ good friends. I was very fond of Elizabeth, but it seemed she wasn't what she appeared to be and was quite nasty to my brother. You'll know about her attempted murder of him?" **

**"Yes, I'm afraid we do. Are you still in contact with Ms… Hitchens?"**

**"No, of course not. Should I be? She quite betrayed our trust."**

**Barek glanced at Mike and he moved toward her. "Thank you, Alicia," he said. "That's enough for now. It was… good to see you again."**

**"Any time, Mike. Any time. Just call. I presume you have my number if you have my address."**

**She followed them out and closed the door as they made their way down the stairs. Opening the driver's door of the car for Barek, Logan ducked in time to miss her swing at him with her fist.**

**"Hey, I'm getting used to your love-pats, Barek, but I didn't deserve that one. Alicia Haynes is ancient history."**

**"See that she stays that way, Mike." He closed her door and sloped around the car to the passenger side. Getting in, he tugged on his seat belt, before facing Carolyn to gauge her thoughts.**

**"You believe her?" Barek asked him, looking back at the brownstone.**

**"She lied to me before. She can lie to me again."**

**Carolyn nodded. "And the fact that she had a relationship with Arthur Wendell _and _Nicole Wallace, and Bobby and Alex are out of town following a lead similar to the Wendell fire?" She looked pointedly at him. "Coincidences?"**

**Logan frowned, his jaw set. "I don't believe in coincidences."**

**oOo**

**TBC…**


	5. Chapter 5

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

**Chapter Five**

**oOo**

**Gentle fingertips skated down her face and Alex rubbed her cheek against the smooth starchiness of expensive linen. The sleepy stretch of her body followed the contours of a well-sprung mattress, but despite the comfort of the bed and the reverence of the fingers questing her face, something was not right. She felt chilled, her body ached, and Alex found it so difficult to open her eyes that she gave up trying. Disorientated, panic sent her fighting the fingers now brushing the hair from her face, and she twisted away from the warm body she sensed beside her.**

**"Take it easy, Eames." A familiar voice reassured her, stopping her flight from the bed, but heralding the rush of memory that reminded her where she was and what had gone before.**

**"B…Bobby?" Her voice cracked over a dry mouth. Taking in a gulp of air, Alex choked as her body spasmed with pain. "I don't… feel so good." She tried to sit up, but a firm hand coaxed her back down.**

**"Don't fight it, Alex," Bobby said, and she took heart from his sure tone. "Relax. It will get better."**

**When she lay back down, his hand was under her neck, supporting her. It felt so good to have him this close, diminishing her awareness of the pain. She opened her eyes and saw him, seated on the bed, his hip butting against her waist, dressed in blue jeans and a black v-necked shirt stretched across broad shoulders. Putting up a hand, her fingers touched and explored the stubble on his face and she smiled. He was real. The nightmare might be real too, but at least he was in it with her.**

**"Nicole?" she whispered, still trying to find strength for her voice.**

**"Upstairs." He moved away to perch on the edge of the bed, and Alex almost protested out loud at the withdrawal of his reassuring contact. "We're in the basement of a large house. Only one exit, deadlocked."**

**Alex tried to shake the cobwebs from her brain, but she couldn't think straight. She was too aware of Bobby; big, comfortable, warm Bobby less than six inches away from her. Her heart raced at the thought that he might have been in bed with her. She couldn't remember that part and he wouldn't look at her now, but her eyes drank in his strong profile.**

**"Any idea… where we are?"**

**"None. Nicole, with her flair for the dramatic, blindfolded me and you were mostly unconscious. I know we drove… maybe two hours, but I have no sense of the direction we took."**

**"You never got an… opportunity to overpower them?" Alex squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her brain to think coherently. "Exit the vehicle?"**

**"And leave you at their mercy? No, Alex. I got you into this mess. I wasn't about to abandon you–"**

**Opening her eyes, she placed a hand on his chin and turned his face to her, her eyes pleading with him to not carry the burden. "Don't! Don't blame yourself, Bobby. She's psychotic. It's not your fault she's obsessed with you. Me… well, I'm obviously in her way."**

**"She's using you as leverage." His face was miserable with guilt. "To get at me. This _is_ my fault."**

**Alex wanted to reach out and pull him closer, lay her head on his shoulder and draw strength from his presence, but his sense of failure cocooned him, shutting her out. The dejection in his rounded shoulders was so absolute, she couldn't prevent herself from touching his forearm, her fingertips teased by the soft curling hairs and inherent strength in the tight sinews. **

**"Is there…water?" she asked, licking dry lips.**

**Bobby catapulted from the bed. "Oh, God. Sorry. Not thinking…" **

**Alex watched him disappear into an ensuite and then looked around their 'prison', a large well-appointed room in shades of cream and avocado green, the subdued lighting throwing shadows over a large table and chair suite, and sofa and high-backed chairs facing the bed on which she lay. The air was cooled from an air-conditioning vent above a dumb-waiter positioned where a fireplace might have been, its aesthetic value marred by a large padlock.**

**Bobby returned with a glass and Alex welcomed his arm around her shoulders to support her into a sitting position. She groaned and he apologized profusely, but she shook her head. "Every… joint is aching. Everything seems to hurt."**

**He held the glass against her lips and she sipped at the cool liquid. Even that small measure of comfort seem to strengthen her but she still shamelessly used the opportunity to lean on Bobby's chest and nestle against his shoulder.**

**"Thank you. That's much better. But I feel so weak." Alex tilted her head to look at him, his mouth so close she felt his sweet breath on her face. She remembered his kisses from the night before and wondered what he would do if she kissed him now.**

**"No chance of rushing them when the door opens?" she asked, light-headed but unsure whether it was still the after-effects of the poison or Bobby's proximity.**

**"I've already tried that. The door opens inward, and GQ kicks it in with his foot. I nearly got a broken nose out of it. The Glock follows second and then Nicole waltzes in like she's untouchable." His mouth twisted with distaste. "But I'll try again."**

**"GQ?"**

**"Her muscle. Goes by the name of Rafiq. Doesn't say much, but he sure is loyal to her."**

**Alex nodded. "She's good at bewitching them. She's tried hard enough with you."**

**His eyes dropped down, self-conscious. "She's poison. How do you feel now?"**

**"Growing more lucid by the minute." Just stay where you are, Bobby, she thought, and I'll soon be able to conquer the world. "She poisoned me?"**

**"Venom. She's given you two anti-venom shots so far. You're out of the woods, for…"**

**"…for as long as you co-operate with her," Alex finished when he wouldn't. "You can't let yourself be blackmailed by her, Bobby. It diminishes you, and I couldn't live with the guilt that I was the cause."**

**His eyes were shut tight over an internal pain at which she could only guess. "I will not…_not _allow any harm to come to you. Whatever Nicole's agenda is, she knows she will be unsuccessful if anything happens to you."**

**"Bobby…"**

**"That's final, Eames." **

**Still supporting her, he turned round and arranged several pillows behind her, then lowered her onto them before getting up from the bed, and Alex could have kicked herself for causing his withdrawal. She burrowed her face into a pillow, crazily close to tears and even contemplated amplifying her distress to get him to come back to her, but couldn't bring herself to deceive him.**

**She heard Bobby prowl around the room and moving a heavy chair. Peeking from the depths of her pillow, she saw him standing on the chair, examining the air-conditioning vent.**

**The muted sound of a motor kicking into gear had Bobby off the chair and laying his ear against the wooden paneling of the dumb-waiter. Testing its padlock, he stood back as the motor stopped and a loud clunk was heard from behind its door. **

**The click of a key in a lock drew both their attention to the exit door. The door flew in, helped, as Bobby mentioned, by the boot of Rafiq. Nicole breezed in with a flourish, smiling widely, her gaze encompassing the room with a sweep that noticed Alex and targeted in on Bobby.**

**"Good, you're awake, Alex. Bobby was worried about you, wanting me to call an ambulance. He had no faith in me. Or your stamina, it would seem." **

**She wandered over to the dumb waiter, smiling up at Bobby as she unlocked the padlock and pulled the double doors wide to reveal an array of covered plates and servers. "Bobby, go help Alex clean up for breakfast. I'll handle this."**

**"She's not able…" he said with barely controlled anger. "She can barely move–"**

**Nicole rounded on him. "My, your temper hasn't improved any this morning, has it? What? Did Alex reject you? If _you _don't do it, Bobby, I'll get Rafiq. I'm sure he won't quibble." **

**"I'll be fine," Alex said, dragging herself off the bed and swinging her feet to the floor. The well-being and comfort she'd experienced on the bed with Bobby disintegrated into vulnerability when Nicole and Rafiq arrived. "I could use the bathroom, anyway." **

**Putting her weight on her legs, Alex tried to stand but her knees immediately buckled. Bobby rushed to catch her, scooping her off her feet. Cradled in his arms, Alex' breaths became short pants and she remembered again how his kisses had taken the breath away from her last night.**

**Nicole finished shaking out a tablecloth onto the table and straightened, her hands on her hips. "What a lovely picture!" she said, delighted. "Strong male, legs astride, shoulders embracing the helpless female in his arms. I've got chills. Rafiq, I must get you to pose for a photo like that. Preferably naked." She laughed and went back to the dumb-waiter.**

**"Anything you say, my queen," Rafiq murmured, his voice deep and suggestive, and lowered his length onto one of the large stuffed chairs near the bed.**

**Armed with a handful of cutlery, Nicole headed for the table and stopped, her brows raised. "Bobby, don't just stand there. Go help Alex shower for breakfast."**

**"Shower?"**

**"She's not sitting at my table in that condition. She reeks of vomit from when she chundered in the car."**

**Alex withered inside. She didn't remember, hadn't been aware she was soiled, and earlier she had just about forced herself on Bobby. She hung her head, ashamed. "Please, Bobby," she pleaded. "Let me clean myself up."**

**Hesitating, Bobby's arms tightened on her, before he turned and strode into the bathroom. Stopping short of the shower cubicle, he looked down at her. "Are you going to be alright?"**

**"I'll manage. A shower will make me human again." He lowered her to her feet but her rubbery legs wouldn't support her. Sliding to her knees, Alex threw back her head in futility. "I'm not going to be so fine, after all."**

**She appealed to Bobby and his face was in agony. He seemed undecided, as if he wanted to help her but didn't trust himself. **

**"If you… run the water," Alex said, swallowing hard, "I can just crawl in and sit on–"**

**With a frustrated curse, Bobby spun on the faucets and lifted Alex into his arms again. Checking the water temperature, he immersed both himself and her under the steamy deluge and Alex would have laughed at the notion of their showering fully clothed if she hadn't felt so mortified. **

**He cradled her to him, her head upon his chest, weak as a kitten. The shower's tiny sharp jets on her face and neck tingled her to life and the water's balmy temperature seeped into the pores of her body, cleansing most of the pain. Bobby's hard strength and the scent of his heated skin rising with the steam, did the rest. Alex lifted arms that felt like dead weights and looped them round his neck, put her mouth to his neck and sighed. She felt his body react to her caress, a vibration that rocked the whole of him and finished with a moan deep in his chest.**

**Alex' peace was shattered by Nicole's loathsome voice. "Here's a change of clothes for her, Bobby. Give me her soiled ones."**

**"We're fine in here," he gritted. "We don't need you." **

**"Then give me her soiled clothes," Nicole said, as if talking to a recalcitrant child.**

**Alex heard his jaw grind on his teeth. "Can you–?" His query was no more than a breath in Alex' ear.**

**She shook her head, too weak to even lift it from his chest. "I don't think I can."**

**Bobby turned off the shower and Alex thought she heard him whisper _'forgive me'_.**

**Placing her feet to the floor of the shower cubicle, Bobby shielded her from Nicole's gaze with his back, supporting her against his chest as his hands moved to the buttons on her saturated shirt. Alex held her breath as his fingers deftly released the bottom button and worked their way up. His hands carefully avoided contact with her skin but she felt the tension tight in his body. Alex wanted to shout at him that she didn't care. He could stroke her, any part of her, and nothing would be taboo from his touch. She would welcome it, but she sensed at what it cost him to remain impassive to their situation with the knowledge that Nicole was watching.**

**Alex knew she should help him, but she didn't have the energy or the willpower. Laying her head back against his chest, she let him peel off her wet shirt where it clung to her skin. She bit back a gasp of pleasure as his fingertips fluttered against her stomach, his hands on the waistband of her trousers. Her knees trembled, not only from the effort of fighting the poison still weakening her system, but the intimacy of Bobby's hands on her bare skin was excruciating as he pushed down her clinging pants. **

**Bundling the clothes in one hand, he held her in the crook of his arm and tossed the clothes back out the cubicle door.**

**"Oi!" Nicole exclaimed, jumping out of the way, but not fast enough to avoid Alex' clothes hitting and sliding down her midriff. "Very funny, Bobby. But I'm not as wet as you are right now. Whoever heard of anyone taking a shower fully clothed?" She pressed a white towel to herself, sponging off the moisture. "The underdaks too, Bobby."**

**Still shielding Alex, Bobby swung his head over his shoulder. "Forget it, Nicole. We've played your little game." **

**"Rafiq?"**

**Alex tensed, the lethargy induced by the hot shower and Bobby's body, gone.**

**"You require my services?" The low drawl came from behind and Alex was thankful Bobby's body prevented the man from seeing her so exposed.**

**"Yes, darling," Nicole purred, "Alex needs help with her underwear and Bobby's too much of a gentleman to lower himself to do anything about it."**

**"With pleasure." Hearing Rafiq enter the ensuite, Alex couldn't prevent her small sound of distress.**

**"Touch a hair on her head," Bobby growled, "and I'll beat you into a pulp."**

**"But I'll wing you with a bullet before you've barely started," Nicole said in boredom.**

**"Leave us!" Bobby's chest shook with the force of his anger.**

**"I'll leave when I'm good and ready," Nicole snapped, the boredom morphing into steel. The underclothes," she repeated.**

**Turning in Bobby's arms, Alex wanted him to see her face, let her eyes tell him it was okay and she understood he had to do this. She tried to reach behind herself, but nausea and the loss of his support, made her sway. **

**Catching her, Bobby's hands went to her back. Alex held his apologetic eyes as he unclasped her bra, letting it fall from her body before stooping for her panties. Tears welled in Alex' eyes, not from embarassment, but from the realization of how much this was torturing Bobby, his loathing of being so out of control of a situation and his personal ethics subjugated.**

**"Now, that wasn't hard, was it?" Nicole asked. She turned to rummage in the tall shelves within the ensuite and produced a set of clean clothes. Nicole looked Bobby up and down and wrapped her hand around his upper arm. "My, Bobby. You certainly win the wet t-shirt competition in my book." She looked at him beneath her eyelashes and Alex cringed at the sexual taunt of her mouth.**

**"Just give me the damned clothes, Nicole!"**

**"Don't yell at me, Daddy," Nicole said, and Alex stiffened at the mercurial change in her tone, from condescending sarcasm to her 'little girl' voice. "I was just trying to be helpful."**

**"I think I can dress myself," Alex said, fear for Bobby at the mercy of this woman forcing her to stand unaided.**

**"I don't think you realize what's expected of you here," Nicole said, her voice vibrating with childish anger. "We're playing dress-ups. Daddy has to dress Mummy." **

**Bobby stiffened as if he too realized Nicole had lapsed again. "Nicole, little girls don't watch their Mommies dress," he said, forcing patience. "They dress their dolls in their own room. Go to your room, Nicole, and wait for Mommy and Daddy to come and get you." **

**Alex held her breath. It was worth a shot to see what effect his paternal command would have.**

**Rafiq, still standing at the doorway, merely laughed. **

**Nicole froze, her mouth open, then seemed to mentally shake herself. "You talk rot sometimes, Bobby. Help Alex dress and meet us outside for breakfast." She threw the clothes at Bobby, scooped up Alex' wet things and ushered Rafiq out of the ensuite.**

**Alex began to shiver and Bobby whisked a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her before rubbing briskly. Her skin started to glow with the friction and he almost lifted her from her toes. Alex had to bite back an hysterical giggle.**

**"Hand me the clothes, Bobby, I'll be fine," she smiled.**

**"No." **

**Dropping the towel, Bobby slid his fingers under the wet hair on her neck and drew her face up to his. Alex held her breath at the look on his face, a mixture of reverence and desire that heated her blood and sent it pounding through her body. His eyelids lowered over eyes glittering with depths she'd never seen before. Body straining, Alex leaned toward him.**

**"Bobby–"**

**He cut off what she had been about to say with his lips. It didn't matter. It had only been an invitation to do exactly what he was doing. Robbing her will, he pressed the length of her against him and plundered her mouth. The wet roughness of his jeans against her sensitized skin had her moaning and devouring him back. Pushing her hands under his sodden shirt, her fingers kneaded the hard muscles of his back and she clung to him until she had no more strength in reserve.**

**The venom-induced weakness taking its toll, Alex sagged against him, quicksilver flashes exploding against her closed eyelids. Her head lolled back, exposing her neck to his rain of kisses until Bobby realized something was wrong.**

**"Alex!"**

**Laughing feebly, she panted, "I don't think… I can… go on."**

**"I'm so sorry. I'm a brute." Swinging her into his arms, Bobby carried her outside and laid her gently on the bed, pulling up a sheet to cover her nudity. Alex was aware of the soft fall of the linen against her skin before feeling bereft at the loss of Bobby's solidness around her as he left her. **

**"What's wrong, Alex?" Nicole taunted. "Bobby too much of a good thing for you?"**

**"Shut up, Nicole!"**

**Alex felt the bed give as Bobby rejoined her. Shielding her from Nicole and Rafiq as much as he could with his body and the sheet, Bobby dressed her in a soft fleecy sweatshirt and pants. Haste to cover her made his hands heavy, but she didn't care. Her body revitalized where he touched her, her strength returning beneath his hands, so that when he finished, she was able to sit up with his support on the edge of the bed.**

**"Come, I've made breakfast for us all," Nicole said, cheerfully. "And after we're finished, Alex can call your boss and tell him you're both otherwise engaged and won't be in."**

**"Why don't we phone now?" Bobby suggested, leaving the bed and advancing on Nicole.**

**"Because we haven't had breakfast yet." Nicole started arranging the hot plates and servers on the table, talking as she did so. "And if you think you're going to alert Major Case of your predicament by using the duress code for the day, I happen to know what today's is. If Alex uses it, it's game over and you both die. By the time your bodies are found, Rafiq and I will be off on another adventure." **

**Nicole straightened, smiling widely at them both, as if she'd been talking about nothing more important than what was on the menu for breakfast."You've never wondered how I'm one step in front of you all the time, Bobby? If you had, you might have looked internally. But you haven't. Very remiss of you."**

**Alex repressed her start of shock. A mole? In the Squad? It was unthinkable, but Nicole _did_ seem to be able to outwit even Bobby.**

**"Now, you need to change into dry clothes, Bobby," Nicole said, "while Alex and I finish setting the table. Not that I don't like that skintight look on you, but I need to concentrate on my breakfast, without distractions. Off you go." She shooed him toward the ensuite. "There's dry clothes in the cupboard for you too."**

**"Nicole, let's be reasonable about your motives here," Bobby said, and Alex winced at the forced obsequiousness in his tone. "Let Alex go, and I'll…do…anything you want."**

**Nicole flung him a calculating look under her lashes. "Anything?"**

**Bobby's mouth worked with the effort it took him to agree, almost gagging on the words. "Yes. Anything."**

**"Prove it, Bobby." Nicole walked toward the ensuite and beckoned him with a finger. **

**Alex pushed herself off the bed to lean weakly on the bedside table, her hand held out to stop him. "No, Bobby… don't do it! It's not worth it!"**

**Casting an agonizing glance toward Alex, Bobby lowered his eyes before shaking his head and followed Nicole into the bathroom.**

**"Close the door, Bobby," Nicole ordered, and Alex heard the latch click with horrifying clarity.**

**Alex stumbled for the door, but Rafiq launched himself from the sofa and barred her attempt to reach Bobby, moving faster than she had ever seen him. **

**Halting at the muzzle of Rafiq's gun pointed at her forehead, Alex knew, for all his smooth good looks, she was looking into the face of a cold-blooded killer.**

**"I think Nicole would not want to be disturbed," he said, a faint accent underlining his words. "Please, return to the bed, or sofa, or wherever you prefer. But know this, if you choose to interfere, I will be forced to… interfere with you."**

**Hesitating for a brief second, Alex walked shakily toward one of the high-backed chairs, concern for Bobby taking its toll on her newfound strength. She sank into the seat, picked up its throw-pillow, and began to twist it, listening for sounds from the bathroom.**

**For what seemed eons, Alex waited, but it could have been only minutes later when the door opened and Nicole exited, a dark scowl on her face. **

**"I hope you realize what a useless champion you have here, Alex," Nicole muttered, striding toward the table. "What a mug. Bobby will not play ball even with your life at stake." She tossed her head in disgust at Bobby as he rejoined them, dressed in dry jeans and a Calvin Klein vest. Alex' eyes took in the breadth of his shoulders bared by the cut of the vest, her breath catching with a mixture of appreciation of and anguish at what he went through in the minutes spent alone with Nicole.**

**"Ah, forget it." Nicole sat down at the head of the table and opened out her arms. "You're welcome to him, Alex. Come, won't you join me? The food's not poisoned if that's what you're worried about."**

**Bemused at how the woman could pretend everything was normal, Alex looked to Bobby for guidance. He wouldn't meet her eyes, but pulled out a chair and waited for her to accept it. **

**"I'm okay," she assured him as she sat. **

**Bobby lowered himself onto the chair beside Alex, putting himself between her and Nicole.**

**"I'm not," he said.**

**oOo**

**Reading Bobby's hunched shoulders and thinned mouth as sheer frustration, Alex closed her cell phone and handed it back to Nicole. She'd rung Deakins as Nicole ordered, sans the duress code, not willing to call the other woman's bluff. Bobby had nodded in approval, reinforcing Alex' belief that Nicole _would_ shoot both of them if backed into a corner or if she felt it warranted. **

**Alex was starting to flag from the stress and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. She forced herself to stay upright in the large chair that flanked the bed in their basement prison, Bobby and Nicole on the sofa and Rafiq in the other chair. Nicole was regaling Bobby with the details of the trip she'd taken to Arizona to see the daughter of Dr Evan Chapel, the man engaged to Nicole at one stage and whom Bobby and Alex had arrested for murder and attempted murder. Nicole stopped mid-sentence and looked over at Alex.**

**"We're boring you, Alex?"**

**Alex tossed her head in defiance, not willing to show Nicole weakness.**

**"But of course, you'll still be feeling the effects of the venom," Nicole reasoned. "You'll need to rest. Was Bobby a big bear in bed last night and you didn't get enough sleep?"**

**"I didn't–" Bobby began, quickly looking at Alex, then stopped.**

**Nicole spun on him. "What, Bobby? What were you going to say?"**

**"Forget it, Nicole. I'll help Alex to the bed."**

**He went to get up from the sofa but Nicole grabbed his arm, and Alex could see the strength of her grasp quiver on his forearm. **

**"What…were…you…going…to…say?"**

**Bobby flicked a glance at Alex. "I didn't want to disturb Alex. I slept here, on the sofa."**

**Nicole's eyes swung to the bed then back to Bobby. Before he could stop her, she slapped his face hard, his head snapping to the left. Jaw shuddering under his skin as he reined in his fury, Bobby turned his cheek, reddening under the stubble, back to her, and Alex could see from where she sat, his eyes boring into Nicole's with hate.**

**"Daddy's 'sposed to love Mummy!" Nicole shouted. "Daddy's 'sposed to be in Mummy's bed, not mine! Why does Mummy have to cry at night alone in her bed?" **

**Nicole jumped up from the sofa and rushed over to Rafiq. Wresting the Glock out of his hand, she trained it on Bobby with both hands. **

**"Get into bed with Mummy," she shrieked, the gun shaking in her hands, "and love her like she should be loved."**

**Alex shivered at the instability in Nicole's voice. **

**"Do it! Do it now! Or I'll blow you away, Daddy. I'll make sure you never touch me or another little girl again." **

**oOo**

**TBC…**


	6. Chapter 6

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M **_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

**Chapter Six**

**Wincing as Barek pulled out into the busy street and cut off a horn-happy cabbie with fast reflexes and colorful language, Logan hung on to the dash with one hand and his door with the other.**

**"Take it easy, Barek. A fender bender won't look good on our records."**

**"Check my record," she snapped. "There's no vehicle incident entry, nor is there likely to be."**

**Logan did have faith in her, but sitting in the passenger seat of nearly a ton of fast- moving metal diminished his control of a situation. "Slow down anyway, will ya?" **

**Barek blew air through her teeth in exasperation. "I've never understood why men turn into cowards when being chauffeured by a woman."**

"Maybe, because they rightly fear for their lives." He yelped as they took, in his opinion, a left turn too fast. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

**Her head spun round to look at him. "Men can be so clueless."**

**"Yeah, well, sometimes I get tired of readin' between the lines. You worried 'bout Alicia?"**

**"Worried, no. Annoyed, yes."**

**"I told you she was ancient history." Logan tried to remain calm. He knew from a lot of experience in dealing with women that you had to keep cool and act as if you were agreeing with everything they said. "And I told her I won't be calling socially. What more can I do?"**

**"I know what you told me." Barek braked at an intersection, gave a swift glance both ways and powered through. "But I also saw your face when she opened the door. It wasn't the reaction of a man seeing an old girlfriend after all these years. You were…floored, Mike. Your face lost all its color and you looked ready to pass out."**

**_Shit! _Logan knew this was his first test, but he hadn't expected it so soon. Up-front honesty in a relationship didn't come easy to him. He preferred to bluff his way through any touchy situation, but this time he was determined to do right by Carolyn from the start.**

**Turning in the seat to watch her profile, he mustered all the sincerity he possessed to convince her. "Alicia… we… well, the relationship was pretty intense. It was the closest I'd ever come to… wanting the whole shebang. Then it ended, cruelly." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I went on a soul-destroying binge after that, blaming her, blaming the father, blaming society for decreeing cops aren't good enough for its daughters."**

**"A binge?" Barek frowned. "You mean, screwing around."**

**"Yeah, that's what I mean. How succinct of you to say it." She winced and he could have cut out his tongue for the sarcasm. "I'm sorry, Carolyn. Sorry I said that, and sorry Alicia Haynes was behind that door. Seeing her again brought all of that back. The good and the bad. I was hit out of the ball park for a while. That's all."**

**"How do you feel now?" She still sounded testy and Logan guessed he wasn't making any headway.**

**"She's very much a thing of the past," he repeated.**

**"How do you feel about rekindling ancient history?"**

**Logan was sure his eyes were bugged out of his head and that he'd misheard her. "What! Are you crazy?"**

**"No, brave, maybe, throwing my man into the lioness' den." Her mouth thinned and she flicked him a look. "I've thought it through if you haven't. Alicia's lying through her teeth. That's why I cut the interview short. I'll bet my pension she's still thick with Nicole Wallace, despite the heartfelt declaration that Nicole betrayed her trust."**

**"I dunno–"**

**"How gone was Alicia on you, Mike? When you were together? Was she in love? Did she want to marry you? What?"**

**Logan shifted on his seat, uncomfortable with where Barek was heading. The whole tone of the conversation had changed on him like quicksilver and he didn't know if it was a trap or if she was still mad at him, but he _did_ know he had to tread carefully. **

**"Well, she said she did," he confessed, bracing himself.**

**"Did she have expectations that you were just as serious? You've already admitted you were. Did she know that?"**

**He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess she did."**

**"Then she's not going to think too highly of her brother for wrecking her relationship with you, is she?"**

**"She might have resented him–"**

**"I think it went deeper than resentment. What did she say, Mike? Back there in the den." Barek's voice quickened with interest. "'I could have killed my brother for telling my father'. Well, someone tried to. Someone she was thick with."**

**"Where are you goin' with this?"**

**"Remember the photo? Gavin Haynes, the brother and husband, was out in the cold. The women were arm in arm." The look she gave him was longer this time and more piercing.**

**Logan was starting to see the light but was far from convinced. "Nicole's girlfriend, Ella-something was the one who tried to kill Haynes."**

**"I know, but who's to say Alicia wasn't behind it too? Or, at the very least, all for it?"**

**"It's a stretch–"**

**"But not a very big one." Barek's knuckles showed white on the steering wheel, a sure sign of her increasing excitement with her theory.**

**"And?"**

**Slowing to a stop behind stationary traffic, Barek turned in her seat and gave him her full attention. **

**"The Wendell fire is your case, Mike. Yours and Alex'. But Alex phones in and says she and _Bobby _are investigating it and won't be in the office. She also stipulates you and I are to continue with your investigation. Four detectives on one fire. Isn't that overkill?" **

**"Maybe, but–"**

**"Stay with me a minute. Who's the common denominator here?"**

**Logan cupped his chin with a hand and pursed his lips. "I'm gonna take a real leap here and say Nicole Wallace 'cos I think that's where you're heading." He nodded ahead. "Traffic's moving."**

**Barek turned back to the road and let the car roll forward. Negotiating the slower driver ahead with an acceleration into a gap that put Logan's teeth on edge, she nodded in satisfaction. "Well done. I'll recommend you for another medal."**

**He was going to deserve one for remaining in the passenger seat of the car. Swallowing, Logan tried to sound cool. "You're sayin' Nicole started the fire. Motive?"**

**"None that I can see yet, except to say to Bobby, 'I'm back in town.'"**

**"But I got the case, not Goren."**

**"Nicole couldn't have known that and besides, who got it might be immaterial. It was enough to say, 'Here I am.'"**

**"She's not an arsonist–"**

**"–that we know of. Besides, what's stopping her adding it to her résumé eventually?" **

**"And now?"**

**"Now we find out where Alex and Bobby have gone. Call them on their cell phones. See if they're together."**

**Logan shook his head, not yet won over by her argument. "You're adding to the overkill."**

**"Maybe, but I'm also following a lead. Call them." **

**Barek stopped at a yellow light and Logan was pleasantly surprised she didn't run it. Flipping out his phone, he rang Goren's number and waited. It went to voice mail. Scrolling through, he selected Eames' entry and drummed his fingers on his knee as he watched Barek watching him. He sent her a kiss and, as expected, her mouth twisted in annoyance. He wondered how someone who professed to like him could be so consistent at disliking everything he did. **

**Closing his cell, Logan shook his head. "Voice mail. Both of them."**

**"Shit!" Barek stared back at the road ahead, frowning as she watched for the light to turn. "It won't hurt to roll on by their apartments to check where they spent the night." She looked pointedly at him. "If I had agreed to go home with you last night, whose place would we have chosen?"**

**Logan had to grin. "The way I was feeling, the closest." He tapped his chest. "Mine."**

**"And whose the closest where Bobby and Alex are concerned?"**

**"Goren's."**

**The light changed, Barek gunned the car and beat the Porsche 911 beside her off the mark.**

**Logan whistled in admiration.**

**oOo **

**Bobby stared down the barrel of the Glock held in Nicole's trembling hands through a red haze of fury. **

**He hated to admit it, but he was close to breaking point. He didn't fear for his own life, but should something happen to him, he feared for Alex.**

**Nicole had pushed him hard, threatening the woman who had become more important to him than life, forcing him to degrade her and to debase himself while she had him alone in the ensuite and now was demanding they perform for her like porn stars.**

**"Put the gun away, Nicole," Bobby said, biting down on the words to hide his tremble of rage. Convinced her insanity was finally in charge didn't so much trouble him as the unpredictability of her moods. He couldn't get one step ahead of someone capable of such mercurial changes in mind-set.**

**"What are you going to say now, Goren?" Rafiq unfolded himself from the chair where he'd been watching their interplay and walked slowly over to Nicole. "Little girls don't play with guns?" The man smiled with an evil akin to Nicole's. "That's how you've defused her every other time." Rafiq ran his hand down her hair before resting his wrist on her shoulder, pulling Nicole to his side. Her face was as pale and still as a porcelain doll's, but her hands still shook with the gun. "It's not going to work this time. She wants this too bad." **

**"This!" Goren fought the desire to put his hands around the man's throat and choke him.**

**"Your humiliation or your misery," Rafiq said, his refined tone sounding more ominous than the click of a primed gun. "If you don't do the lovely Alex, I will. And you won't like how I do her."**

**Goren sought Alex where she sat in the other chair, but her face was closed and neutral. "You're giving me a choice?" he bellowed.**

**"Which is the greater evil for you, Bobby?" Nicole asked.**

**"This is too sick, even for you Nicole!" Taking a breath, he fought to keep his anger under control. "Stop this nonsense now. You want my humiliation? You got it when we were alone in there." He flung out his arm and pointed toward the ensuite, deliberately avoiding Alex' questioning gaze. "You want my misery? Every time you cross my path, I'm suffering. Congratulations. You got what you wanted. Isn't that enough?"**

**"You know it's not, Bobby." Nicole smiled, the coy dip of her chin at variance with the lethal weapon in her hand. "I want you in knots. I want your head so messed up that you won't be able to ever look your partner in the eyes again."**

**Rafiq started to walk toward Alex and Bobby saw her flinch, her eyes darting toward his, the flash of appeal cut short by her innate courage. **

**Despite the man's height, Goren was more than a match for him in weight. He could take down Rafiq with one hand but he couldn't defend himself from a loaded gun at the same time. Still seated on the chair, Alex had no chance to avoid Rafiq and disarm Nicole.**

**And Goren still believed Nicole would shoot them both rather than lose out to him again.**

**He had few choices, but there was no way in hell he would allow Rafiq to touch Alex. **

**Ignoring the gun aimed at him, Goren moved, his body blocking Rafiq's advance toward Alex and held out his hand to her. Alarm flared briefly in her eyes and she hesitated. Putting as much assurance in his face as he could, he silently implored her to follow his lead.**

**Sensing her confusion of his intentions and her hope that he had a plan to get them out of this, he couldn't let her guess he had none. His usual tactic-based battle of wills with Nicole was negated by the presence of the armed muscle. All Goren could do was buy time until an opportunity presented itself. **

**Until then, he needed Alex' trust.**

**His eyes holding hers, hand steady, Goren waited.**

**Alex' lips parted as she placed her hand in his.**

**Locking on her gaze, Goren tugged lightly and Alex stood, swayed, then tilted her chin bravely. Her face told him all he needed to know – she trusted him implicitly. Goren deliberately prolonged the moment, abhorring what Nicole demanded of him, but accepting it was preferable to the alternative.**

**"I won't let Rafiq touch you," he promised Alex.**

**"For God's sake, Bobby," Nicole said, "get on with it. You're here to entertain us, not bore us to tears."**

**Goren had no idea if he could go through it, but he had to take one step at a time. **

**Leading Alex to the bed, he stopped and sat down on its edge, turning her to him and taking her other hand in his. He held her fingers lightly with his, his face upturned but couldn't prevent his mouth from trembling in torment. Tears welled in his eyes as he tried to convey how deeply sorry he was that she was being put through this.**

**A movement on his left caught Goren's attention. Nicole and Rafiq had stationed themselves on the sofa and settled in as if they were the audience to a live show. The analogy was vilely accurate.**

**"Take off her clothes, Bobby," Nicole urged. "Let's see how impersonal you can be the second time around."**

**"No!" he howled, anguish cutting through his heart. "Not with your sidekick in the room. I can accept you want to see me humiliated and I'll grind my pride in the dust myself if that's what you require, but humiliating Alex in front of that sadist isn't part of the deal. Get rid of Rafiq and I'll do whatever you say."**

**"My, Bobby," Nicole scoffed, "you love repeating yourself _and_ throwing out the conditions like you're in charge or something. Where do you get off thinking you have a say in anything? You're boring me, and I'm losing patience. It might be more fun to see you both run around the room dodging bullets." She arced her wrist, waving the Glock haphazardly. **

**"Undress Alex _now_, Bobby," Nicole snarled. "Make love to her like you mean it. Put on the best show of your life. For me. Do it _all_ for me."**

**"And then? What's next?" Goren felt his lip curl as he speared Nicole with his disgust. "Rafiq rapes her anyway?"**

**"Tsk, tsk, Bobby," Nicole jeered. "You know me. One card at a time. I'm not going to show you my whole hand, and certainly not now, when you've done nothing to earn it. Time's running out. For you. For Alex."**

**Throwing back his head, Bobby sighed in defeat. He bit his bottom lip and looked into Alex' eyes as he tightened his fingers around hers.**

**"Come to me, Alex," he whispered.**

**oOo**

**TBC…**


	7. Chapter 7

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

**_Come to me, Alex._ Magic words spoken by the man she most wanted to hear say them, but the situation in which they were uttered was abominable. Alex' blood was ice in her veins, her cold fingers trembling under Bobby's, despite his grip on them. She wanted him, but not like this. Not at gun-point, not with an audience, and not so that she would always wonder, was he doing this because he wanted to or because he had to.**

**Her eyes slid sideways to see Nicole on the sofa, her head cocked to the side, smiling that little girl smile that was all teeth and pout. Her avid look of expectation appeared grotesque beside Rafiq's handsome boredom.**

**Alex trembled at the incongruity, the insanity, of it.**

**"Don't look at them, Alex," Bobby urged. "Look at me. Only at me."**

**Alex lifted her face to the most anguished eyes she had ever seen. Either honey-brown when he was amused at something, or chocolate mud when a perp was being particularly tiresome, Bobby's eyes were now dark pebbles in a shallow stream, glistening with unshed tears. Alex' breath caught on a tight gasp and she nodded, determined to do anything to minimize his grief.**

**"Don't look away. Close your eyes if you must, but don't look at _them_. Listen to my voice. Hear nothing but my voice." Bobby's face looked beautiful in its soft entreaty to her and Alex knew she would do anything for him. **

**She lifted her chin and closed her eyes. "Talk to me, Bobby," she whispered. "Just keep talking to me."**

**"See nothing but me," he said, his voice firm and sure, "and know that not one ounce of me would ever hurt you or do something to cause you discomfort. Every inch of me respects you and will worship you."**

**Alex tensed when she felt his fingers at her waist as he grabbed the sweatshirt and gently lifted it over her head. "Trust me, Alex," he said. "You know you can trust me. We'll get through this. If you want me to stop… or if you want me to do something for you, just say so. Anytime… anything. Do you understand?" **

**Alex nodded and willed her muscles to relax. She did trust him. To prove it, she strived to block out everything but the sound of his voice and the touch of his hands. **

**His voice lowered to a mere whisper. "And I will use my body to always block you from their view, okay?"**

**His fingers were on the track pants she wore and she aided him by wriggling up the bed and lifting her hips, her eyes tightly closed. She desperately wanted to look at him but feared embarrassment would rush in if she opened them. **

**"You too, Bobby," Nicole said, splintering Alex' composure. "And don't think about covering up with that sheet either. I want to see all that glorious flesh and muscle at work. This is going to be ripper, Rafiq. Better than the sex shops in Thailand." She sighed theatrically. "Made to order sex, Bobby Goren style. I'm getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it."**

**Alex whimpered and Bobby leaned into her and kissed her forehead. "Don't, sweetheart," he appealed. "Don't listen to her. Hear only me. I'll make this bearable for you. I promise. I'll turn something vile into something tolerable if you'll let me." He kissed both her eyelids. "Will you let me?"**

**"Yess…"**

**"Want do you want me to do?" he asked, his breath warm on her cheek. "How can I make this easier for you?" **

**Alex opened her eyes and looked into his, trying to project. through them, what was in her heart. "I want to enjoy this, not suffer through it. I don't want to feel I have to be embarrassed by anything you or I do." **

**"I understand." **

**"And I want to watch you," Alex said simply, believing it. They were past awkwardness. She intended to bury her inhibitions and accept the pleasure of having Bobby with her, no matter the circumstances.**

**"Then watch me," he said, a small smile lifting his lips.**

**Pulling back briefly, Bobby swept the t-shirt from his torso and Alex' eyes widened at the sight of all that flesh and sinew so close to her. She had his permission to look at him, enjoy him, and pleasure him. She lifted her hands and smoothed her palms over his chest, the silky tightness of his skin beneath her fingers beginning a tremor in her body that had her squirming on the bed and a small mew of pleasure rippling from her throat.**

**"Nothing else exists, Bobby," she whispered, looking into his eyes, now the eddying pools of a vintage port.**

**"Nothing else," he promised.**

**Bobby rose from the bed, his back to the sofa, chest bare and jeans hanging low on his hips. Alex held her breath, her mind leery of what was expected of them but her body, awakened by the sight of him, straining for his.**

**Bobby's hands went to the clip of his jeans and Alex' eyes skittered down to watch before flashing back, almost guiltily, to his face. Pulling the clip apart, Bobby's fingers sought the zip, the faintest smile on his lips making him look incredibly sexy.**

**"Is this okay, Alex? Are you… still with me?"**

**"Yess…" She felt she should say more, assure him nothing could dent her trust of him, but the sight of his pushing his jeans down his legs rendered her incoherent. He wore nothing beneath the denim and, despite the audience at his back, he was already almost fully erect.**

**"I'm sorry, Alex," he said, genuinely distressed. "The sight of you… beautiful…lying on that bed, naked… I'm only human." Stepping out of his jeans, Bobby leaned forward, one knee on the bed and placed his hands either side of Alex' face. **

**"I want to do this right, despite… that…" He jerked his head behind him. "I want to kiss you, stroke you… _worship_ you and make love, not sex."**

**"_Bobby!_" Alex groaned and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him to her. "That's what I want."**

**"That's what I want too, Daddy!" Nicole squealed. "Love Mummy! Yes! Love her, _Daddeee!_" **

**Alex froze, shutting her eyes tight, trying to blot out the other woman's madness. **

**"Alex, I'm here," Bobby pleaded. "Open your eyes. See only me."**

**She did, to see his head descend to her, to feel his lips feather hers and then she shut her eyes again, to savor the experience of his mouth on hers, his lips warm and moving across hers, touching and lifting, touching and pressing. Tenderness explored her mouth but heated skin and hard muscle moved against her body, the pressing weight deliciously bearable.**

**Alex' arms slid over Bobby's shoulders and down his back, her fingers tracing a rib here, a sinew there. The living satin feel of him transformed Alex' breaths into tortured little gasps. Bobby opened his mouth over hers and drank them in.**

**"Touch me, Alex," he urged. "Touch me and pleasure me. I'm yours. Don't hold back. Nothing else matters."**

**Sighing with joy at the open invitation, Alex turned her face into his chest, inhaling the heated fragrance of his skin as she ran her hands down the small of his back and over his buttocks, glorying in the way they involuntarily contracted at her touch. She gave a small laugh of delight, running her hands back up again and squeezing them, settling his hips into hers, feeling his arousal press into her.**

**"That's good, Alex," he gasped. "I want you to touch me. And I need you to show me what you want."**

**Bobby's face was pressed into her neck, his considerable stubble sensitizing her skin. Pushing her heels into the bed, she thrust upward, aligning a breast with his cheek and growled with pleasure as the sharp prickles punctured her softness. She writhed under his beard's roughness, a long moan escaping her lips. Bobby turned his head, capturing the nipple with his lips and tongue and sparks exploded behind Alex' eyes. Her hands flew to the back of head, pushing him harder into her, her hips rotating against his, signaling her readiness.**

**Bobby hauled himself to his elbows to look down at her. "So soon?" he asked in disbelief.**

**Alex smiled. "Bobby, you can take five minutes or five hours. It doesn't matter just so long as I–" She stopped, suddenly self-conscious.**

**He shook his head in wonder. "There's something I have to do first."**

**His face swooped to hers, pressing her to the bed as he drove open her mouth, filling her with his tongue. Alex' fingers ripped at his hair, her senses shattered by the passion in his kiss…no, the onslaught of it. She rode the wave with him, gasping for air when he finally lifted his head to rain kisses upon her face. She purred as his beard scraped down her exposed throat, the sound escalating into a groan of bliss as his lips closed over a breast and drew it into his mouth.**

**"The only part of you that's not small, Alex," he chuckled, going back for more. **

**Alex' only response was to thrust her hips against his, unashamed by her demand. The outside world retreated and could no longer touch her. Bobby's naked body was on hers, his mouth devouring her, his hands enflaming her skin where they roamed. **

**"Alex, sweet Alex," Bobby gasped, lifting his head and shaking it from side to side. His shoulders above her shuddered with strain. "I fear…I can't hold back…much longer."**

**"Then don't, Bobby." Alex moved under him, opening her legs and positioning herself. She hissed through her teeth as he instinctively found her, quivering against her heat, enticing pure torture as he held himself back. Keening, she bore down on him, unable to wait, her aggression rewarded with his sure thrust into her.**

**Alex tossed her head to the side, her eyes flying wide with shock. Nothing and no one before had prepared her for the mind-blowing glory of having Bobby Goren inside of her. Her chest felt tight and ready to explode, her legs trembled with the threat of an instant climax and her head thumped with the rush of blood to and from her brain.**

**"_Christ! Bobby! Oh, Christ!_" **

**Alex' bite on her lip drew blood, the pain quickly dispersed in the waves of sensation as Bobby's stroke within her ignited a singing in her nerves, clamoring for gratification and shattering into pins and needles at her fingertips and toes.**

**Digging her fingers into his shoulders, Alex heaved herself out of her shocked passivity and started riding him. Gritting her teeth against the raw pleasure already swamping her, Alex threw her head back into the pillow and clamped her legs around Bobby's waist, meeting thrust with thrust until her body spasmed out of control. Screaming to the ceiling, Alex pummeled Bobby's shoulders then feverishly sought his skin with her mouth, biting down on the thick cord of his neck before she could prevent herself. Tears of ecstasy welled in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks as she tongued the wound in apology.**

**Bobby had frozen at her release and Alex was aware he was still very much engorged. He had far from disappointed her and she wasn't about to let him deny himself.**

**"It's okay, Bobby," she breathed. "I can take more." She gave a little laugh. "Much more. Let me ride you on top," she smiled, emboldened by their intimacy. **

**"No!" he said forcefully, his eyes raking her face for confirmation of her offer. Then more gently, "No, I won't let that ape see you. I won't expose you to them."**

**Alex understood. He had promised to use his body as a shield and he would honor that promise.**

**Alex pulled his head to hers and kissed him softly, then more deeply, drinking in his sweetness. Twisting her hips, her breath caught on the delicious hardness of him still in her. She began a slow rhythm designed to encourage him but discovered an answering mounting pressure within. God, he was delicious, powerful but gentle, and teasingly torturous. Alex' arms cradled Bobby's back as she rocked beneath him, her heels driving deep indents into the mattress as her body strained into him. What started out as a deliberate giving of herself to Bobby to grant his own release morphed into a greedy need to take more from him. **

**Lapping the salty moisture from his skin, Alex breathed in his heady maleness as her hips ground against his in renewed demand. Her want grew, cresting once more in a splintering of senses as Alex' sanity was swept before her in a tide of feeling. She felt Bobby shatter within her and heard his groan of release, her fingertips chasing the tremors under his skin, but still he held his weight from her, shielding her from both their audience and his own heaviness.**

**For the first time in her life, Alex felt as if her heart and soul broke away to seek to be with someone else. She stroked her fingers down Bobby's spine, her body soaking up the shivers her touch elicited.**

**"Daddy _does_ love Mummy," Nicole cooed from above them.**

**Bobby jackknifed to the other side of the bed, pulling up the sheet to cover them as Nicole sat down on the edge of the bed. Alex watched Nicole warily, the beauty of her experience with Bobby souring and shriveling into their imperfect reality. **

**Nicole pouted, looking from one to the other. "Then Mummy's going to have to die, isn't she?"**

**oOo**

**TBC…**


	8. Chapter 8

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

**Nicole found herself flat on her back on the basement floor and three hundred pounds plus of naked male on top of her. It wouldn't be the first time, but never had she seen such murder in a pair of eyes.**

**"Goren, you will remove yourself from her," Rafiq said smoothly, "or I will blow a hole in the temple of your lovely Alex."**

**Nicole relaxed with an inward sigh. The man was a gem, a wonderful find who thought how she thought, and was both dependable and obedient.**

**Feeling Bobby freeze, Nicole gazed wide-eyed into his snarling face, his lips pulled back and white teeth ready to take a chunk out of her. She thrilled to this violent side of Bobby and if he only knew she continually devised ways of bringing it out in him, he wouldn't keep rising to her bait.**

**Nicole slid from under his raised shoulders, enjoying the extreme satisfaction derived from the dejection in his hung head. She nodded at Rafiq, sitting on the edge of the bed with his Glock pressed against the side of Alex' head. Alex had managed to wrap the bed sheet around her and, with her chin held high, was showing a brave front.**

**"Thank you, Rafiq," Nicole said, smoothing down her dress as she stood. "Bobby, that really was a very unwise move, especially coming from you." She smiled down at him as he pushed himself into a crouch. "Rafiq has nothing much to do here except protect me. Give him a reason to strut his stuff and you may not like the results."**

**"What have I got to lose, Nicole?" Bobby demanded an answer, throwing out his arms. "Despite what we did… went through… you still threatened Alex' life!"**

**"Don't be silly!" Nicole tossed her head. "That was a wonderful performance, and I hope you'll entertain me with many more. In fact, I'll leave you two alone now so that you can devise some different and interesting moves for next time." She wagged a finger at him. "But jump me like that again, Bobby, and I'll have to do you a serious injury."**

**Walking toward the locked exit, Nicole motioned for Rafiq to follow her. "Now, Rafiq, it's time for you to supply me with a little distraction too. Bobby's antics have fair damped my panties." She laughed and hooked an arm around Rafiq's waist as he joined her, still with the Glock trained on Alex.**

**A cell phone chirped within Rafiq's pocket and Nicole looked expectantly up at him. "Expecting someone?"**

**Reaching into his jacket with his other hand, he brought out a slim silver phone. "It is yours, my queen." He checked the caller ID. "Alicia wishes to speak to you."**

**Nicole frowned, not pleased with the interruption. "Secure the door behind you," she said as she unlocked the exit and passed through it. "We don't want those two escaping yet." Mounting the steps to the main house, Nicole flipped open the phone. "What is it?"**

**"Nicky, honey, it's me. How's it going up there?"**

**"Fine, Alicia. Can this wait? I'm in the middle of something."**

**"Something?" Alicia laughed throatily at the other end. "You doing Goren or the woman?"**

**"Don't be crass, love. Bobby and Alex are just toys for me to play with." Nicole swung a long glance at Rafiq as he opened the connecting door into the kitchen for her. "Rafiq gives me everything else I need."**

**"Until you tire of him."**

**"What do you want, Alicia? The conversation so far has been pointless." Bypassing the long wooden benches in the kitchen that gleamed with the stainless steel appliances of expensive luxury, Nicole leaned against the stand-alone bench, above which a full rectangular utensil rack was suspended, and beckoned Rafiq to her.**

**"Sorry, babe," Alicia said, "but I wanted to let you know that two city detectives came to my door today."**

**Nicole stopped in the middle of one-handedly undoing Rafiq's tie. He had her pinned to the edge of the bench, leaning in to nuzzle her neck, but she held up a hand to stop him, mouthing a 'wait'.**

**"What did they want?" she asked Alicia. "Not Bobby, surely? They couldn't have twigged to the detectives' disappearance this early."**

**"They wanted to know about Wendell."**

**"They found your connection so soon? But you don't have to worry, Alicia. There's nothing to connect you to the fire."**

**"Maybe not, but they saw a photo of you. They know you're my sister-in-law."**

**"_Ex-_sister-in-law." Nicole wasn't concerned, never bothering to hide her past, only her escape routes. "It's not your fault that I married Gavin and dragged you both into my evil web." She laughed at her own joke and finished with Rafiq's tie before starting on his shirt buttons. "Stop worrying. You've done nothing–"**

**"I'm not worried. I… well, I know one of the detectives."**

**Nicole caught her breath as Rafiq's hand stole under the hem of her dress and slid up her thigh. "I'm very happy for you, Alicia, but I have to go. Rafiq's not going to–"**

**"It's Mike. Mike Logan. You remember me telling you about him?"**

**Nicole sighed, annoyed that Alicia wasn't taking the hint. "Look, love, I recall you telling me you were hot and heavy with a cop once, but that was years ago–"**

**"I still want him, Nicky. Seeing him again… well, I still want him."**

**Nicole immediately sensed complications arising; complications she didn't need and certainly didn't want coming from the home oval. She batted Rafiq's hand out from under her dress, pushed him away and straightened from the workbench to walk over to the refrigerator.**

**Swinging the door open in a temper, she pulled out a bottle of red wine and shoved it at Rafiq. "Be a love, and pour us a drink. I'm going to need it."**

**Her teeth on edge, Nicole spoke back into the phone. "Why are you telling me this now?"**

**"I want to bring him up there," Alicia said. "Like you did with–"**

**"No."**

**"But, Nicole, it's my house–"**

**"_No!_"**

**"I don't see why not. If you can do it, I can–"**

**"Let me shed some light on the subject for you," Nicole snapped. "This is not a love tryst we're having up here. This is an abduction. This is bringing Bobby Goren to his knees, to hell and back and then some. You're not bringing your boyfriend into the mix. Screw him in New York if you must, but you don't need to shack up with him here–"**

**"It's not that simple."**

**Nicole rolled her eyes. It never is. She accepted the wine goblet from Rafiq and stroked his bare chest in apology for keeping him waiting.**

**"He's… in a relationship," Alicia said, and Nicole detected an uncharacteristic note of uncertainty in her voice. "He's not going to ditch this woman in a hurry, but if I bring him up there–"**

**"You bloody well listen to me, Alicia." Nicole dug her nails into Rafiq's bare chest and he growled in response. "You and no one else is going to come anywhere near this place, do you hear me? Stay in New York like a good girl and leave other women's men alone. If you can't get a man by fair means, you won't keep him by foul."**

**Nicole gasped as Rafiq tore her dress down the middle, buttons and lace scattering to the floor. She'd ignited the beast in him with her temper and she didn't intend to waste the moment. "Now forget this Mike Logan and I'll share Rafiq with you when we're down there again. Okay?"**

**"Nicole, you don't understand–"**

**"No, _you_ don't understand. Stay away from here and stay away from cops. Now, Rafiq's getting impatient and I'm not going to deny him anymore. Goodbye, Alicia."**

**Nicole closed the phone and skidded it across the workbench. Hitching herself up on top of the flat surface, she opened her legs and beckoned Rafiq with crooked fingers. "Come to Mama, stud."**

**oOo**

**The Super shuffled along the landing, closely followed by Logan and Barek until he stopped at a door and stooped over the door lock. Taking his time flipping through his keys, he finally found one and inserted it in the lock. Carolyn's neck seized with tension, feeling an urgency she couldn't substantiate, nor ignore. **

**"I'm not likin' this," the Super complained. "Mr Goren, he's a very private man. Even if you _are_ from his precinct, I reckon you should have a search warrant or sometin' before you go snooping round his apartment."**

**"Yeah, your complaint's been noted," Logan fudged, rolling his eyes at Carolyn. "You can tell Goren all about it when he gets back. Meanwhile, if you don't mind…"**

**With the door finally opened, Carolyn beat Logan into the apartment, scanning the living room and seeing nothing amiss. **

**"You take the bedroom and bathroom," she told Logan, pointing to a doorway beyond which she could make out the corner of a made bed. "I'll take the kitchen and living room." **

**She watched Mike lope off toward the bedroom and gave herself a second or two to imagine following him in there and throwing him on the bed and… Taking a breath, Carolyn shoved the pleasant thought aside and let her eyes sweep the living room more thoroughly.**

**Carolyn was impressed with the fastidiousness of Robert Goren. Everything appeared well-ordered and placed, not cluttered but not austere either. Not surprisingly, there was not one large bookcase, but three that she could see, each filled to capacity with books of various sizes and all hardbacks. The dining room table was cleared, chairs neatly stacked under its burnished wooden top with a square black candle on an ornate silver plate the only centerpiece.**

**The stuffed sofa looked old and comfortable, well-sprung and upholstered in a faded rich brocade. Matching chairs were strategically placed near the bookcases as if Bobby would select a book and sit where he stood. Seeing nothing to alert her, Carolyn moved into the kitchen. **

**Everything seemed in its place. She checked the fridge, found an opened quart of milk, the same of orange juice, but no mixers for alcohol. A plate of exotic-looking cheese and two covered dishes containing leftovers sat on the shelves. There was no crockery in the sink or drainer, nor scattered on the bench top. Popping the trash bin's cover, Carolyn checked out the only cast-off – a used coffee filter that was still damp. Bobby was here last night, made coffee and cleaned up after himself. Did he make coffee for two? **

**"Hey, Barek!" Logan called. "Check this out."**

**Carolyn hurried to join him and found Logan in the bathroom with the clothes hamper lid open.**

**"What was Goren wearing yesterday?" he asked.**

**"Charcoal suit, eggshell blue shirt, gray tie with thin blue diagonal stripes."**

**Logan lifted an eyebrow, obviously impressed with her recall, but he should be used to it by now. They'd worked together day in, day out for several months.**

**Logan leaned down and pulled out a pale blue shirt and gray trousers.**

**"He changed out of his work clothes," Carolyn stated the obvious. "Is the shower still wet?"**

**"Nope, dry. And look at this." Logan fished out a blue-striped gray tie from the hamper. "Now, I know Goren's particular and finicky, but no guys I know dump their ties in laundry hampers to be washed."**

**Carolyn's interest sharpened. "Any sign he slept here last night?"**

**Logan led her into the bedroom, sweeping a hand toward the neatly made single bed. "If he did, he slept alone. Who would have thought it? A single bed! I've slept in a king-size since I grew out of short pants." **

**Carolyn grimaced but had to agree, wondering why such a large man chose to sleep so constrictively. "Did you find his cell phone?" **

**"Nope. If it's with him and he's not answering it…" Logan looked hard at her. "Worth checking out Eames' apartment to see if they checked in there?" **

**"If we do, I want it done fast," Carolyn frowned. "It could have been a rushed moment, but I don't like that tie in the hamper either. I've got flags going up over this." **

**oOo**

**Alex' Super was more cooperative, having already met Barek when Carolyn gave Alex a couple of lifts to work. He chatted amicably but was quick to report he hadn't seen Ms Eames since yesterday morning.**

**"She could have slipped in and out in a hurry, of course," the Super added, "but usually she checks in to ask after the missus. My wife's been feeling poorly of late."**

**"We're sorry to hear that," Carolyn said, nodding sympathetically before following Logan through the door. She nearly ran into the back of him as he came to a sudden halt over the threshold.**

**"Whoa! The place has been ransacked!" he cried.**

**Barek smiled slightly, looking past him into the living room dominated by several coffee tables strewn with magazines and family photos, her dining table half hidden under a huge semi-constructed jigsaw puzzle and scattered homeless pieces. Several pairs of shoes were haphazardly stationed at the door, and she counted three coats on the backs of the dining table chairs. A rug had been tossed to the floor in front of a foldaway bed that doubled as the room's couch and three remotes were tossed on the floor beside it.**

**"This is normal, Mike," Carolyn said. "I've been here several times and it's the same every time. Alex likes living in a mess."**

**"Mess? My place is a mess." Logan shook his head in wonder. "This is a war zone. _You've_ got the bedroom this time. I ain't goin' there. Never know what I might find."**

**Carolyn tossed him a look as she headed for the room beyond. "The kitchen's yours then and no eating her food. I know you and your appetite and she'll have nothing left–"**

**Logan was behind her, moving swifter than a cat, his breath at her ear and hands on her shoulders. "You haven't even scratched the surface of the depth of my appetite, _Caro__mia._"**

**Carolyn shivered at the feel of his lips on her neck, then swung round, batting him off. But inside, she was purring. "Your Italian accent stinks, Mike. Stick to the Irish blarney you're so good at."**

**Mike feigned a mortal wound to his chest and walked off in the direction of the kitchen. Carolyn wasn't going to scold him for being unprofessional. They were alone and weren't really on a case; just an investigation into Bobby and Alex' whereabouts. How they were going to write this up and explain the time spent here to Deakins was more of a concern to Carolyn than Mike's antics.**

**Like Bobby's, Alex' bed was undisturbed, but at least it was a good queen size. A bathrobe was thrown over the only chair in the room, there were more magazines and shoes scattered, and a cluttered desk, with just enough spare surface to accommodate a laptop computer, stood against the wall. A thorough search of the bedroom, closet and bathroom produced no discarded work clothes from yesterday.**

**"No cell phone again," Logan said, joining Carolyn empty-handed. "The kitchen's not much better than in here, but it doesn't look like it's been trashed in haste." Logan spied the desk. "I thought bedrooms were for sleeping, not working."**

**"I thought you thought bedrooms were for–"**

**Carolyn didn't get to finish as Logan swooped on her, drugging her with a knee-buckling kiss. She melted into him, her hands grabbing his arms for support and her heart pounded against her ribcage. Just as quickly, Logan let her go and Carolyn's head reeled.**

**"Sorry," he said, not sounding apologetic at all, "you've been asking for that with all this talk of bedrooms." His eyes twinkled as he gave her a lop-sided grin. "And I told you before, I can get creative. I don't need a bedroom." His gaze swept her body, and Carolyn's blood flamed in response. **

**Banking his interest and suddenly professional again, Logan looked expectantly at her. "Now what?"**

**"Uh, um…" Carolyn swallowed hard and collected her wits, her heart still beating erratically. "Well… what have we got?" She took a deep breath. "Alex could have spent the night at Bobby's."**

**"Not likely, not in that bed. I bet fifty there wasn't any action in there last night."**

**Carolyn ignored him, having been warned about Mike's random betting challenges. "But if she did, would she have gone off without a change of clothes?"**

**"Maybe she took a change of clothes with her." **

**"Unlikely. I've already looked and her overnight bag is still in her closet. That's not conclusive, she still could have, but I'm not convinced."**

**"Any other leads?"**

**Carolyn thought hard. The mental picture came to mind of Alicia Mateus wrapping her arms around Mike and pressing her body into his as she kissed him.**

**"As a matter of fact there is," she said slowly. "But I'm going to hate every minute of it."**

**Logan thrust his hands in his pockets, his eyebrows raised, waiting.**

**"You get to rekindle old flames, Mike."**

**oOo**

**Alex watched Nicole and Rafiq leave the room then turned to see Bobby push himself from the floor to retrieve his clothes. She followed his every movement, unashamed to look at him, especially now that they were alone.**

**"What just happened then?" she asked, clearing her throat. She'd been held at gunpoint before, but never by someone with such pleasurable detachment. The fact that Rafiq didn't care whether he blew a hole in her head or not was more terrifying than the psychotic killer who didn't know what they were doing.**

**"She… she was going to have me killed," Alex said, her gaze holding Bobby's as he turned back to her, jeans secured but chest bare. "I saw it in her eyes, and then… She acted like nothing happened."**

**Bobby pulled his t-shirt over his head and massaged the back of his neck as he sat on the edge of the bed. His shoulders rounded, he shook his head. "Nicole…is swinging between psychosis and revenge against me." He looked away in guilt, but Alex cupped his chin with her hand and brought his gaze back to her.**

**"Bobby, I said it before. This is not your fault. And nothing you did hurt me. You did what you had to do. We both did. I'm okay with it."**

**Heaving a sigh, Bobby continued. "When Nicole's regressed… as the abused daughter… she resents her mother for not stopping her father's abuse of her, maybe even… blaming her mother for indirectly causing the abuse. At the same time, the mother is seen as someone with whom to compete for her father's so-called affection and so… is a real threat to Nicole. It would serve a kind of purpose if her mother were dead." Bobby's eyes closed as if acceding to the shocking truth of his theory. "When she's lucid, she just wants me to suffer and you're merely a pawn to keep me at bay." He opened his eyes, and Alex saw the conviction and hardness there. "I've convinced her that if you're harmed, there is nothing that will protect her from me."**

**"Nicole's far more dangerous in her psychotic state," Alex stated, picking up his logic.**

**"Yes." He nodded, head heavy.**

**"So we've got to keep her torturing you, rather than killing me." Alex smoothed her hand up Bobby's cheek. "Sounds like a rock and a hard place."**

**"Yes, it is."**

**oOo**

**TBC…**


	9. Chapter 9

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

**"Lunch," Logan said, as he and Barek left Alex' apartment building and hit the pavement. "And you can tell me why I'm putting my neck in a noose that's not of my own making."**

**"But–"**

**"We eat while you check on Alicia's holdings." Logan punctuated the air with a finger, cementing his decision. "If Bobby and Alex are out of town, and you think Alicia is involved, why not check if Alicia _owns_ anything out of town?"**

**"Okay," Barek nodded, "there's a café close by that Alex took me to once. They serve a great Thai Chicken Salad."**

**"Thai…chicken…salad?" Logan grimaced in disgust.**

**Barek laughed. "They also sell a mean hotdog."**

**"I'm in."**

**oOo**

**Barek closed her cell, and watched Logan wolf down his hotdog. He looked too big on the delicately iron-wrought café seat, his elbows barely fitting across the matching round table top.**

**"No property in Alicia's name," she said, "either as Mateus or Haynes. Even the house she's in at the moment is still owned by her father. Gavin's holdings are all in Manhattan or interstate. And after the way Nicole honored her marriage vows to him, I can't see him allowing her to hide away in one of his."**

**"No flags on Hitchens or Wallace either," Logan acceded with disappointment, washing down his food with a swig of coffee.**

**"It was a long shot," Carolyn nodded. "From what I hear, the woman's a ghost until she wants to be seen." She flicked her fork through her salad, pushing aside the lettuce as she searched for another piece of spiced chicken. "Alicia is still our best lead. And you…"**

**She looked up and spied some ketchup on the side of Mike's mouth. Leaning across the small table, Carolyn handed him a paper napkin, resisting the urge to clean him up herself. Despite his being such a big, self-assured man, she had an uncommon urge to mother him. "… are our best bet at getting information from her."**

**"Just bring her in for questioning–" He took the napkin and swiped his mouth.**

**"–and she'll either act dumb like she did before, or lawyer up. Either way, we're no closer to finding out where Goren and Eames are. And before we go any further with this case, I _want_ to know."**

**The hotdog finished, Mike peered at Carolyn's plate, checking for anything of interest. "I don't know what you think I can do…"**

**"Come off it, Mike, stop playing the innocent. Alicia was all over you today."**

**"And she's gonna give up Nicole because I… what? Ask her to?"**

**"You underestimate your powers of persuasion–" She looked him over, her chest tightening at the memory of what they had shared last night. Instead of trying to persuade him to pursue an old flame, she wanted to take him home and re-ignite the fire that had burned between them in the squad locker room.**

**"No." Losing interest in her green salad, Logan looked up and caught her staring, his eyes darkening at the message he must have seen in them. A bolt of sexual energy charged the air between them, and Logan returned the message, then straightened, breaking the contact and clasping his hands together to fidget with his ring.**

**Carolyn knew she should appreciate his professionalism, but she resented it had to be that way.**

**"I'm merely being wary," he said. "I'm being sent in to sweet talk an old girlfriend by a…" He waved a hand toward her. "…new girlfriend. I just know I'm gonna regret this."**

**oOo**

**Alex watched Bobby's back while she dressed in her borrowed sweats. Since Nicole left, he had been trying to avoid looking at her until Alex finally gave up and let him turn his back to her.**

**Scooting off the edge of the bed, Alex swayed a little, still feeling the effects of the spider venom. She was glad Bobby missed it. She didn't want him to act concerned about her physical health when he didn't seem concerned about her emotional stability.**

**Walking aimlessly away from the bed, she noted how tastefully the basement had been converted to an extra bedroom, complete with carpeting, paintings, drapes pulled over the two small exterior windows, and small bookshelves and an entertainment system. She pulled out a novel and looked at it without interest. A J.A.Konrath paperback.**

**"I'm guessing you're going to do the male-thing instead of the adult-thing and not talk about how this…" She tossed a hand toward the bed. "…development will affect us, which…" She swung round on him to see if he was watching her. He wasn't. "…surprises me, because I wouldn't have thought it of you, and so I'm gonna follow your lead and not talk about it either."**

**Alex stopped her wandering and leaned on the edge of the dining table. "Instead, to save any awkward silences, we'll talk about what went down in the bathroom when you were alone with Nicole."**

**Bobby's head snapped round in shock, his face pinched with pain. Alex almost took pity on him. It killed her to do this but she wasn't going to let him retreat into some sort of protective shell and leave her out in the cold. Steeling herself, she banked how much it cost her to torment him like this, and lifted her chin waiting for his answer.**

**He met and held her gaze and the moment stretched for long, onerous seconds. "You're playing psychologist now," he muttered.**

**Alex swept out both arms. "Do you see Olivet anywhere? So, in her absence–"**

**"No."**

**Alex heaved a sigh and died a little inside. He'd asked her to put so much trust in him and she had, willingly, and this is how he repaid her. She couldn't blame him, she knew how independent and complex he was, but she had hoped…**

**"Well, then, you'd best play shrink with me, Bobby, 'cos I'm not going to be able to spend an indefinite time with you and _not_ over-think this and drive myself crazy." Alex launched herself from the table and joined him on the edge of the bed.**

**"What we did… I've never thought of myself as an exhibitionist and the notion that I could have made love in front of an audience would have had me laughing at the improbability of it." He didn't move or acknowledge her, but she waited before pressing on.**

**"When presented with the absolute _necessity_ of it, the improbability didn't lessen. I still couldn't have done it." She put a hand on his thigh and his muscle rippled beneath her fingers. "Except… I was able to do it because of you. The faith I put in you, following your lead, taking strength from your empathy of how difficult it had to be for me, blew away the improbability because I, pure and simple, forgot they were there. Everything was shut out except for the presence, substance and strength of you." She gazed at his profile, willing him to look at her. She wasn't going to force his gaze this time. She would wait for him to voluntarily show her what he was feeling.**

**It seemed eons, but he finally turned his head, slowly, and his gaze was direct and clearing, dawning with a trust of his own.**

**"Don't tell me," she said, her voice catching with the genuine fear of his dismissal, "you could have done what you did, responded like you did, because it was an act."**

**His eyes clouded again. The hope she saw there had been so fleeting. "Alex," he said, his voice hoarse and alien to her. "I'm better at… shutting out reality than anyone alive. I started young and I… I got damned good at it. Everything I do is an act. And the only one who can… pull me off my stage is Nicole. She makes me… address who I really am and it's not pretty. Alex… you… you don't want to know who I really am."**

**"That's _bullshit!_" Alex cried, unable to believe it.**

**Bobby propelled himself from the bed but Alex managed to grab his wrist. His impetus took her with him, but she dug in her heels and wrenched him around to face her. "You got it wrong, Bobby. You got it all backward. Nicole brings out the stuff you've worked through and past and left behind you. She reminds you of what you _were_, and had to put up with. Who you are today isn't an act, it's what you've become, what you've fought to achieve."**

**Alex felt tears prick her eyes as she willed him to believe her. "I couldn't have gone through what I did with the scarred person you think you are, but rather with a deeply sensitive man who cared for me." She placed a hand over his heart, the heat of him scorching her hand through the thin cotton of his shirt. "I've been with men who have pretended to care for me and believe me, Bobby, I know the difference. You genuinely care for me and I'm not going to let that go. You hear me?" She balled her hand, grabbing his shirt within her closed palm and hung on. "I'm not going to let that go."**

**He didn't move, but stood gazing down at her, his eyes banked so that she couldn't read them. Not giving up, Alex put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. It was like hugging a living, breathing pillar of warm rock, but she didn't care. She was going to show him how it was done, how sometimes you had to swallow your pride and hope like hell you weren't exposing yourself to rejection.**

**Lifting his hands, Bobby clasped Alex' shoulders and gently pushed her away. He looked deeply and long into her eyes, then smoothed his palms down her back and with a groan, pulled her to him.**

**The pillar of rock that was Bobby, bent, molded her against him and with a violent tremor, searched for her mouth with his own.**

**oOo**

**Logan knocked on the front door of Alicia's home for the second time that day, hoping like hell she'd changed her mind and didn't want to see him. Barek was crazy thinking he could pull this off and he was crazy for allowing her to talk him into it.**

**The door swung open and Logan's hope died. Alicia stood there, smiling widely as she beckoned him in.**

**"You alone?" he asked, walking over the threshold.**

**"Not any more."**

**Logan looked back at the door and the absence of any security measures. "You should get better security, Alicia. You never know who you're gonna let in."**

**"I saw you coming, Mike. Just like I did that first time all those years ago."**

**Logan remembered: how he had noted she hadn't secured the safety chain before opening it to him and his partner at the time, Max Greevey. "You didn't know I was a cop then."**

**"Darling," she chuckled, "you looked like police and delectable then, and you look even more like police and delectable now."**

**Absently twirling the ring on his finger, Logan stood just inside the doorway, wondering where to start.**

**"Mike, I'd show you to the den for a drink," Alicia said, stepping in to kiss him, "but I'd really rather just bypass all of that and take you straight to the bedroom."**

**Logan jerked, floored by her candor. "Alicia, I'm not here to–"**

**"Then why are you here, Mike? You said on the phone, you wanted to talk to me again, and you weren't bringing your partner this time. What else am I going to think?" She stroked her hand down the sleeve of his coat.**

**"I was hoping you could help me," he said, avoiding her eye, uncomfortable with the position in which he found himself. Instead, he fixed his gaze over her head on the painting suspended on the opposite wall. Even his uncouth eye recognized the sensual lines and unrealistic vibrant colors of a Matisse nude when he saw one. They had been the only paintings in which he'd taken any interest during Art classes at school.**

**"With some information," he added.**

**"I'm disappointed, but…" she inclined her head, "if you insist. Let's go into the den after all." She led the way and Logan could still appreciate the fair long-limbed beauty of her, but he had to accede he was too far into dark-haired and petite with snapping brown eyes at the moment.**

**Settling onto the sofa, Alicia patted the cushion beside her. "Did you forget me, Mike? All those years ago?"**

**"Uh, not really," he murmured, joining her.**

**"Yes, you did," she smiled sadly. "Don't lie. A woman never forgets her first, Mike. I was ridiculously sheltered then. My father was such a disciplinarian at home as well as on the Bench." Her hands fluttered in her lap, then she let one hand stray to tentatively touch his knee. "Then you walked up our steps and I was besotted before I even opened the door. It was my stroke of luck that my parents were out of the country at the time and I learned how to live, really live."**

**Tucking her hair behind her ear, Alicia glanced sideways at him, a faint smile on her lips. "I had no idea how exciting life could be 'til you showed me. How much fun could be had with a man who wasn't after your money or your father's favor." She took his hand and played with the ring on his finger, watching it turn against his skin. "This isn't the same ring."**

**"No," he said, thinking he should take his hand back but unable to do so without appearing awkward.**

**Alicia looked up, her smile sad and wistful. "But, that's not why you're here. How can I help you?"**

**Logan cleared his throat. "Are you still in contact with Elizabeth Hitchens?"**

**'Oh, I see." Her mouth pinched. "I've already told you–"**

**"I know what you said earlier, but we… I think you know more than you're telling me."**

**Alicia bristled, dropping his hand to sit back in the sofa, withdrawing from him, both physically and emotionally. "Your partner has put you up to this, hasn't she? Or was it your idea? Prey upon my affection for you – I loved you once, Mike – and extract information about a woman who tried to kill my own brother. How low can you go?"**

**"I know how it sounds," he said hastily, "but… we believe two of our detectives are M.I.A. We're playing a hunch here. It's a reach, I know, but we considered Nic… Elizabeth was involved somehow."**

**"Based on what?"**

**"Cop gut, if nothing else."**

**"Yours or your girlfriend's?"**

**He didn't answer.**

**"Well, I can't help you." Alicia stood and turned and Logan jumped up, detaining her with a hand on her arm.**

**"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't want to–"**

**Alicia's eyes closed, her chin high as she took a shuddering breath. "Don't touch me, Mike. Please…"**

**Logan dropped his hand and turned for the door. He was leaving empty-handed but Barek was going to have to lump it. He couldn't bring himself to grill Alicia and the damnedest part of it was he couldn't put the job first because of what they had once been. What sort of a cop did that make him?**

**Conscious of Alicia following him to the door, Logan turned to say goodbye, catching a look of sheer calculation on her face that he hadn't expected. Gone was the gently coaxing woman of before, replaced by someone shrewd and manipulative. His eyes narrowing, Logan planted his feet, refusing to go any further.**

**"You never answered my question," he said, his blood turning cold, sensitivity hardening.**

**"What question was that, Mike?" Her voice was soft, but at variance with what he had surprised in her eyes.**

**"Are you still in contact with your ex-sister-in-law?"**

**She ignored the question but continued to watch him, unmoving.**

**Logan stepped forward and kept coming until he was a hair breadth away from her. Her chin went up but she didn't back away. He was conscious of her breathing quickening and saw her mouth part to let out the small gasps. He didn't know how or why, but his proximity affected her deeply, and probably against her will.**

**After catching that glimpse of hardness in her, the cop in him was back and it felt right. He was again in his comfort zone, a dog on a scent, a scout on a trail.**

**Lowering his head, Logan breathed softly against Alicia's cheek and she whimpered as she closed her eyes and tipped her head back further. He teethed her exposed throat, following her pulse down to the hollow at her shoulder, tonguing the skin there and waited, awed by the low moans reverberating up her neck.**

**"Elizabeth Hitchens," he murmured.**

**Alicia pressed herself into him further, grinding her hips against his. Logan backed off before he did something he'd regret but she grabbed his waist and hung on.**

**"Make love to me," Alicia gasped.**

**Logan froze with his lips on her shoulder. "It doesn't work that way."**

**Stealing her arms up over his shoulders, Alicia's fingers entwined themselves in his hair. "Then you don't get what you want either."**

**"And what do I want?" He pulled back his head, his neck straining against her grip to keep him close.**

**"You think Nicole's got something to do with your other detectives," she said, her voice hard. "You'll only be able to prove your theory if I tell you where she is. I'm not going to do that without my price, else you'll have to take me downtown for questioning and then I'll wait for my lawyer and time will be a-wasting."**

**Logan frowned, not liking her assumption that there was an urgency to the situation, nor that Alicia called Nicole by a her real name. "Why? Is time running out?"**

**She merely raised a brow and smiled slightly.**

**Gripping her wrists, Logan dragged her arms from him and held her away, his eyes boring into hers. She winced at the strength he was exerting but right now he didn't care. "Alicia, what do you know? Are you involved with Nicole Wallace still?"**

**Head down and looking up through her lashes, Alicia's lips curved. "Give me what I want and I'll tell you."**

**Swearing, Logan pushed her away and swung round for the door. He wouldn't be ransomed and now he didn't trust her. The whole episode nauseated him and he wanted to get back to Carolyn. If they couldn't nut out an alternative to finding Goren and Eames then they weren't worth their salt as detectives. But at least he now knew the situation was a dire one and there was a good chance Goren and Eames were in trouble.**

**He had the door opened but Alicia was beside him, both hands on his arm, preventing him from leaving.**

**"Stop!" she said, urgency lacing the command. "I'll take you there. I promise! But just you and me. Not your partner. We go now without alerting anyone else or the deal's off."**

**Logan pulled back in disbelief. "You think I'm a raw recruit? I don't go without backup."**

**Alicia's mouth parted in amusement. "Mike... Nicole and I? Two mere women? And you need backup?"**

**"You, I know." Logan leaned in close. "Nicole Wallace? Her, I know by reputation. They tell me she's intelligent, scheming and a complete whacko. I'm taking backup."**

**"Okay. Okay." Alicia sounded desperate enough to give him what he wanted. "I'll get a coat. Give me five. Then we go and get your partner."**

**Alicia disappeared into the coat closet down the main hall of the house and Logan flipped open his cell phone, punched in Barek's speed dial and waited for her to answer. From where Carolyn was waiting on foot around the corner, it wouldn't take her long to meet them outside.**

**Feeling a sharp jab in the back of his neck, Logan whirled round to see Alicia, syringe in hand, step out of the way as his knees buckled slowly, his limbs losing all cohesion and his muscles cramping haphazardly as his blood turned to treacle in his veins.**

**The lights went out for Logan on the thought that that was a damned fast-acting drug.**

**oOo**

**TBC…**

_**A/N: If you're jacking up at Mike's interrogation technique, let me tell you I've merely gone one step further (considering he already knows her very well) than the director of a L&O Season Two episode where a young Mike Logan played twenty questions with a reluctant witness at her workplace. The scene fairly sizzled with Mike exuding sexual pheromones by the bucket and a very attractive witness lapping it up. They were standing toe to toe, he bearing down on her with the questions and she looking up at him, volleying each neatly, while his then partner, Phil Cerreta, stood in the background with a 'cat got the cream' grin on his face watching and enjoying the proceedings immensely. If it had been reality, that witness could have gone screaming straight to the precinct and filed and won a police harassment complaint. As it was under a director's control, Mike got what he wanted and the witness got a hot flush and damp panties.**_

_**This might be the last chapter for a while. I leave this weekend for a two week camping trip which will keep me off the internet and unless I can whip up another chapter this week, amidst wrapping up the final week of a school term and packing, I don't like my chances of posting a Chapter 10 before I go.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

**Noting the caller ID on the display of her cell phone, Carolyn smiled slightly at her choice of labeling Logan's number, '_Mikey'_. It was a misnomer. He didn't look like a 'Mikey'. Mikeys were cute and cuddly little boys who skinned their knees and came for sympathy with their bottom lips trembling. Mike Logan never wanted sympathy from anyone and there was more than skinned knees in his history, but Carolyn sensed a vulnerability about him which he would have been the first to deny. It was one of the things that drew her to him.**

**"Yo, Mike," she answered, pushing herself off the stone wall on which she'd been resting. **

**Carolyn was about a minute or two away from him, down the block from Alicia Mateus' house and around the corner, keeping herself out of sight, while she waited for developments from him. He had argued with her idea of sending him in alone, citing protocol first and then pointing out the personal risks second. Carolyn tried to dispute she was the jealous type, but Logan had looked at her with blatant disbelief.**

**"I know women," he countered, nodding his head sagely. "No matter what they say, they _all_ have a streak of jealousy in them."**

**Carolyn smiled. He was probably right, remembering how Alicia greeted him during their first visit. Carolyn hadn't liked the way the other woman seemed to deliberately stake a prior claim. But she insisted he'd have a better chance of gaining information about Nicole Wallace and possibly Goren's and Eames' whereabouts if he played upon Alicia's affection for him. **

**Carolyn shifted her weight edgily. Despite it being Mike's caller ID, there was no acknowledgement from him on her phone and she frowned at the disconnected silence in her ear. Checking the cell display and seeing the 'call end' message, she felt her nerves tighten with alarm.**

**Mike never mentioned calling and hanging up without actually giving her instructions.**

**Not trusting anything that gave her pause, she stowed her cell and sprinted around the corner, passing their police vehicle and headed for the front steps of Alicia's house. Instinct, and her insistence on following it, was one of her strong points, and often earned her negative citations within the FBI for not following protocol. That hadn't stopped her then and it wasn't going to now.**

**Drawing abreast of the house, Carolyn crouched beneath window level, checking up and down the street. There were plenty of parked cars, and fewer passing traffic, but no pedestrians. Trying the front door handle, it was predictably locked and with her ear to the door, she heard nothing, but there was no way she was blazing in there without knowing what was going on first.**

**Vaulting the iron hand railing, she landed in the small well-tended garden beside it and hurried to the open window she guessed would look out from the den where Alicia had entertained them earlier. No voices nor sounds issued from there but it provided a quick entry. The window sill was just out of her reach, but bending low, Carolyn sprung for, and grabbed, the window box with her fingers. It held her weight easily and, with a grunt, she used her heels to shimmy up the wall to haul herself up and over the ledge, half-falling into the den. **

**Drawing her gun, she sped silently across the den to the door which led to the hallway. Pushing it open a crack, she peered into the hall and saw Mike's lifeless body sprawled on the carpet runner.**

**Carolyn swallowed her instinctive shout of shock, and checked for movement down the hall, before sliding out of the den and sprinting toward Mike. Hunched over his body, she checked his neck for a pulse, breathing again when she felt a strong one. He was unconscious but she frowned over the lack of outward signs of trauma.**

**Flipping open her phone, she thumbed the emergency code, impatiently counting the seconds until it was answered. "This is Detective Carolyn Barek, Major Case. Medics to 1511 Irving Place. Officer down, injury unknown. I want PD back-up as well."**

**"…can't move him. My friend has drunk too much, Gantry," Alicia's voice grew stronger as she rounded a corner and approached Carolyn from the back of the house. "Just help me put him in my car–"**

**Alicia broke off as she saw Carolyn standing, legs braced, both hands holding her service revolver trained on Alicia and the suited man behind her.**

**"What did you do to him?" Carolyn demanded.**

**Alicia gasped and put a hand to her throat. "Detective Barek! What are you doing here? I had no idea–" **

**"What…did…you…do…to…him?"**

**"Why, nothing! He… we were drinking and Mike didn't feel well and said he had to leave and then just collapsed in the hallway." She turned, wide-eyed, to the man behind her. "I was just asking my butler to help me take him home."**

**"Logan wasn't drinking and he wasn't unwell, so cut the crap," Carolyn gritted. "Last time I ask nicely. What did you do to him?"**

**"Gantry." Alicia stepped back, and folded her arms. "Please show Detective Barek the door. She's being quite rude and I won't–"**

**"Forget it, Gantry," Carolyn counter-ordered, switching her gun to one hand but not lowering her aim. "Instead, get your employer's coat. She's going for a little trip to the Precinct." Watching both closely, she hunkered back down beside Mike and checked his pulse again. Still strong, his breathing even and regular. Whatever was wrong with him wasn't life-threatening. **

**"You deliberately incapacitated him," Carolyn accused. "Why? Where were you taking him?"**

**"Home, of course! I told you–" **

**"I'm not interested in what you told me. I want the truth. I'm going to get it, either here or back at the station."**

**"I'll call my lawyer–" Alicia said, turning toward the den.**

**"You won't move!" Carolyn lifted her aim, her gun backing up her order and Alicia froze. "When we get you to the station, you can have your phone call."**

**Already Carolyn could hear the sirens and screech of tires outside. Straightening, she backed up to unlock the front door behind her. Two NYPD officers were first through it, obviously having been close by when the call came through. **

**Carolyn identified herself then pointed to Alicia and her butler. "Take both of them to One PP and get 'em comfortable in a couple of interrogation rooms. I'm going in the ambulance."**

**"How is he?" One of the officers nodded toward Logan's inert body.**

**"I don't know yet. Tell Captain Deakins I'll be back to question them myself. No one starts without me." She watched the two uniforms cuff Alicia and Gantry and read them their rights, then stepped back to let them through the front door.**

**Crouching beside Mike again, Carolyn lifted his lifeless hand and held his fingers. "I'm sorry," she whispered, regretting she had insisted when he was against her plan from the start. Her gaze searched his still face, missing the flash of devilry in his eyes already. **

**"What did she do to you?" The raw emotion in her voice surprised her, giving her fair warning of how important he was becoming to her. **

**She jumped, feeling a hand on her shoulder. **

**"We'll take him from here." **

**Carolyn's heart thumped, caught out at being unprofessional, reluctantly moving out of the medic's way. She hadn't even been aware the ambulance had arrived.**

**Checking Logan over, the medic looked at his partner. "Vital signs okay. No ocular response. No sign of trauma." He zeroed in on Carolyn. "What happened?"**

**"I've no idea," she insisted. "That's how I found him. I've taken the perp into custody, but she's not talking."**

**"We'll take him to Bellevue," the medic said, he and his partner loading Logan onto a stretcher, before unfolding the undercarriage and wheeling him to the door.**

**Carolyn stepped up. "I'm coming too."**

**"There's no need. He's not critical."**

**"Detective Logan is my partner," Carolyn said firmly, preventing further argument. "I'm coming too."**

**She shadowed the stretcher as they carried Logan down the steps and into the waiting ambulance. Watching over him as they moved through the Manhattan traffic, she fought the urge to hold his hand, despite being convinced she gave away her involvement with the worry that had to be showing on her face.**

**"Why aren't you using the siren?" she asked, annoyed with herself and taking it out on them.**

**The medic was unimpressed by her sharpness. "He's not critical, Detective," he repeated patiently. "Surely I don't need to remind you about taking unnecessary risks on the road." **

**Carolyn bit her lip on her angry reply. _Maybe, but if anything happens to Mike…_**

**The trip to the hospital seemed interminable, but when they finally pulled into the ER, Carolyn felt even more superfluous as interns and nurses crowded her out. She lost sight of the gurney but was able to follow the tide of medical staff as they whisked Logan away.**

**_I'll roast her for you, Mike, _she thought as she hurried to catch up.**

**oOo**

**Being able to hold Alex in his arms like this was still new territory for Goren. It felt incredible, to cradle her against his body, kiss the breath from her and to have his passion returned. He hadn't realized Alex had such a core of ardor. She was always so calm in the face of his turbulence, and so self-deprecating of her forays into the dating game where her spare time revolved around fruitless searches for someone with which to share her life.**

**He never guessed she might have been marking time, waiting for him.**

**Dare he hope that she would want him? As a lover and soul mate as well as partner and friend? Goren felt himself slipping from reality where they could ill afford indulging themselves but powerless to deny himself the opportunity.**

**Alex broke their embrace first and Goren was both sorry and glad. Glad that one of them was thinking straight and sorry that he couldn't coax her to the bed and relive the wonder of being with her again.**

**"Bobby… I… Should we be–?"**

**"No, you're right." He took a hasty step backward, holding up his hands, feeling awkward again. "We should be finding a way out of here." Goren tried to sound optimistic for Alex' sake, but knew it was a futile exercise. He'd already confirmed the dumb waiter was secured with a padlock and knew, before he tried it, that the door to the level above was still dead-bolted.**

**And despite the ascetic curtains in front of the basement windows, each sill was reinforced with horizontal and vertical grills. Goren strode toward them now, tossed the curtains aside, grabbed a bar and tugged on it with all his strength.**

**"That's not what I–" Alex shook her head, standing in the middle of the room looking confused and indecisive.**

**"We could overpower Rafiq–"**

**She shook her head. "He's a professional. He's got a cool head on him and the lack of emotion of a pro."**

**Goren reluctantly agreed. "Nicole would hardly be fool enough to visit us unattended."**

**Swinging his head round the room again, Goren's gaze came back to the carpet square beneath his feet. It was about ten foot square and appeared an odd covering over the already carpeted floor. Striding to its edge, he flipped up the corner, signaling for Alex to move back. Lifting the whole square revealed a two by four trapdoor in the floor. An inlaid hoop doubled as both a catch and handle. Testing it, Goren blew air through his lips in frustration.**

**"Another deadbolt," he reported, shoulders rounded, optimism dying.**

**'I'm sor–" he began.**

**"Don't!" Alex moved swiftly to him, hugging him to her, her warmth and fragrance and his own physical awareness of her consuming his guilt. "This isn't your fault!" She was angry at him now. He could hear it in her voice, and feel it in the tremors of her body against his.**

**The scrape of a key in the lock had them both spinning round to face the door. Goren vowed if, by some miracle, Nicole arrived without the ever-present gun, he would take on both Nicole and Rafiq and release Alex from this nightmare.**

**"Sorry we took so long." Nicole sauntered into the room, wearing a change of clothes – an expensive-looking cream pantsuit that gave Goren hope she was on her way out. Rafiq joined her more slowly, standing off to the side in his role as bodyguard and jailer.**

**"Rafiq was most accommodating," Nicole sighed. "I didn't have the inclination to wind him up." She shivered and hugged her arms about her. "He's so delicious, it's scary."**

**Strolling over to the dumb waiter, she pulled a key out her pocket, unlocked the outer door, and hit the button. It clanged into action and a whir of machinery brought the platform back down to their level. With a happy grin, Nicole turned round to Goren and Alex as they stood united beside the bookshelf. "Lunch anyone? Sorry it's so late but I've already explained Rafiq and I were–"**

**'You don't have any scones by any cha–?" Alex sneered, but Goren stopped her with a touch to her hand.**

**"Rudeness will get you nowhere," Nicole said smugly. "Bobby knows better, don't you?" She tucked in her chin and looked at him through her lashes. "No, Alex, I'm sorry I don't have any _scones_." She pronounced the word, _scŏns_, ridiculing Alex' mispronunciation. "So, now that I've broken the ice for you, are you two going to stay a hot item? It's so obvious to an outsider you've both been harboring the most erotic thoughts about each other, I'm surprised you didn't do anything about it before. I hope you appreciate me for it."**

**"You expect us to thank you?" Goren asked in disbelief.**

**"Well, someone had to get you into gear, Bobby! You really _are_ a slow pedal when it comes to personal relationships. You've had… how many in the last year?" Nicole placed a covered dish on the table and held up a hand and pretended to count off her fingers. Without counting any, she shrugged and dropped her hands, then turned and headed back to the dumb waiter.**

**"How would you know–?" Goren began, then bit his tongue, annoyed he had risen to her bait.**

**Nicole tossed a look over her shoulder, arching a brow. "I know everything about you, Bobby. Have no doubt about that." She picked up a small stack of plates and cutlery.**

**"And after lunch…?" Nicole mused. "Well, another show would be nice. It might be fun if _you_ go down on Bobby this time, Alex."**

**Goren couldn't prevent his gasp of protest, but his impetus forward designed to do serious damage to Nicole was stopped by Alex' grip on his arm.**

**Nicole merely turned to look at Eames, her eyes wide with false innocence. "Would you like that, Alex? I know Bobby would."**

**oOo**

**TBC …**

_**P.S. Does that answer your question of what went down when Bobby was alone with Nicole in the bathroom? Or am I still being too obtuse:-D**_

**_Okay, I'm back from camping, rested and sunburnt. Well, I was rested until yahoo froze my hotkeyau account and I can't get to all the goss on the new season. Damn. I'm now on pennohara at yahoo dot com dot au. What did I miss? Heaps of new CI episodes, I bet. sigh. Three more chapters ready, but I still have to tweak the last two._**

Ciao!

****


	11. Chapter 11

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**Chapter Eleven**_

**"How is he?" Deakins demanded, before Carolyn was even through his office door.**

**Barek smiled and stood back. "Look for yourself."**

**Carolyn couldn't blame Deakins for looking astounded. An hour ago, Logan had been lying inert on a gurney as it was being rushed into the ER. Now, one foot placed carefully in front of the other, he walked into Deakins' office behind her, a lopsided grin on his face.**

**Deakins' eyebrows shot up. "You're supposed to be half-dead."**

**"So I'm told," Logan muttered self-consciously. "I'm still feeling a bit shaky, but nothing's gonna stop me havin' a piece of Alicia."**

**Deakins lifted his chin with interest. "What did the doctors say?"**

**"They're baffled and _still_ doing tests on my blood. They took enough of the stuff. But it seems I was paralyzed in a matter of seconds, and came out of it in less than an hour. The paralysis was limited to the muscles in the extremities." He shrugged, swayed a little, and Carolyn discreetly held his elbow in support.**

**"Sounds hokey to me," Deakins said, shaking his head then looked at Barek. "You said on the phone that Nicole Wallace is involved?"**

**Carolyn nodded. "I've no proof, just a gut feeling. I also believe that Bobby and Alex are pursuing a lead pointing in her direction and Alicia Mateus appears to know more than she's saying."**

**"Well, I saved her for you," Deakins said, linking his fingers together on his desk and jerking his head toward the door. "You both might as well have a crack at her."**

**Logan's smile was predatory as he cocked a brow at Carolyn and flourished a hand toward the door. "After you."**

**Feeling his balance slip, Carolyn hung onto his arm more tightly. "Let's try it together instead."**

**oOo**

**Alicia was held in Interrogation Room Two, seated on one of the two chairs that had their backs to the observation window. Carolyn could have smiled at Alicia trying to gain an advantage by sitting in one of the interrogator's chairs, but she wasn't in the least feeling amused by, or charitable toward, this woman.**

**Carolyn forestalled Alicia's strategy by grabbing the chair facing the observation window and swinging it round so that Alicia would be hemmed in between Carolyn and Mike like the proverbial meat in a sandwich. **

**An elbow on the table, she supported her chin on her hand and fixed Alicia with a stare that informed her the gloves were off.**

**"I'm…I'm waiting for my lawyer," Alicia began, nervously. "He's on his–"**

**"Now, there ya go, makin' another wrong move," Logan said, taking the other seat and mirroring Barek's position. "You don't need a lawyer, Alicia, 'cos he's gonna tell you to keep your mouth shut, and I'm gonna take my very reasonable deal off the table."**

**"D…deal?"**

**"Yeah." Logan moved in closer. "Ya see, when we first wanted to bring you down here, we had no charges against you and you could have lawyered up and we couldn't touch you." He held out a hand toward her, palm upward. "Now, we've got assault with a deadly weapon and your lawyer's got no recourse to save your neck with. Not to mention having the whole of the NYPD on your case for pickin' on one of their own."**

**Carolyn admired Logan's restraint. He had to be furious with this woman, for not only drugging him but duping him with her pretense at innocence.**

**Alicia looked from one to the other, blustering. "Assault? Weapon? But I–" **

**"Yep, a syringe is most definitely a weapon–" Logan nodded, his eyes glittering with deadly intent.**

**"And partial paralysis is considered assault," Carolyn added. "So, you can start by telling us what you injected into my partner–"**

**"Lover, you mean–" Alicia's lip curled with dislike.**

**Logan's chair scraped and Carolyn's eyes flashed a warning to him. **

**"Partner, Ms Mateus," Carolyn clipped, "and we're making the accusations here, thank you. Now, if you want any leniency from us, tell us what you injected Detective Logan with?"**

**Alicia shrugged. "A naturally occurring poison in the Australian outback. The aborigines used it to tip their spears with to bring down the big buck kangaroos before making their kill. It's fast but the effects wear off quickly. That's all I know."**

**"You rattled that off like you got a crash-course in poisons," Logan jeered.**

**Alicia shrugged again, looking nervously between the two.**

**"So you admit you've been in contact with Nicole Wallace, a.k.a. Elizabeth Hitchens," Carolyn stated for the record.**

**Alicia shifted on the chair. "How do you–?" She bit her lip, thinking better of the obvious question. "Where do you think I got the poison?" she asked waspishly.**

**"This is our deal," Logan said, sitting back in his chair, looking at her with contempt. "You tell us where Nicole is and I drop the assault charge." His tight grin gave her a small measure of encouragement.**

**"I…I was taking you to her," she said. "Like I promised earlier."**

**"So Nicole's only… what?" Logan asked. "Within an hour radius away? That's all the time you had while I was incapacitated."**

**She nodded.**

**"No," Carolyn said firmly, watching the other woman closely. "She's lying." Carolyn's lips thinned, allowing anger to disguise the guilt she felt at risking Mike's life for a lead. "You were going to drug him again."**

**Alicia's eyes dropped. **

**"Alicia," Logan hissed, "don't protect Nicole at the expense of your own freedom." He came in close again, anger sparking in his eyes. "She's not worth it. This is the woman that tried to kill your brother."**

**She turned on him with a vehemence that was as unexpected as it seemed unwarranted. "You think I hold that against her, Mike? I hate Gavin. I've never forgiven him for breaking us up. When I heard–"**

**"What?" Carolyn prompted. "Heard Nicole organized an attempt on his life? And you wished she hadn't failed?" Her interest quickened at a new idea. "Or did she tell you what she was planning and you offered to help?" It sounded even more feasible when she voiced it out loud. "Which is it, Alicia?"**

**Her eyes flickered, the Alicia dropped her gaze. "The deal was I tell you where Nicole is, no more."**

**oOo**

**_"It might be fun if _you_ go down on Bobby this time, Alex." _**

**Nicole laughed merrily as she and Rafiq exited the basement, locking the door and leaving behind them a weighted silence and a lunch spread out on the table for Alex' and Bobby's consumption. For a parting shot, Nicole's divulging her future plans for Bobby's continued humiliation was supreme.**

**Alex walked jerkily toward the table, as yet unable to face Bobby with this new unwanted knowledge. Her hand shook as she lifted the lid from a large platter of cold cuts – curling shavings of hams, sliced roasts, and quarters of chicken. A smaller platter was littered with blocks of cheese of varying shapes and flavors denoted by the deepness of their color and a frosted silver bowl contained freshly cut salads.**

**Not in the least hungry, she picked up a plate and put a small selection of meat and salad on it because she had to do something to cover the awkwardness that was almost a physical barrier between her and Bobby.**

**She would get past this, she knew she would, but right now, the thought of Nicole with Bobby in that way… She put down her plate, gripped the edge of the table and swung her head to the side as nausea overtook her.**

**From the corner of her eye she saw Bobby lower himself to the edge of the bed and scrub his face with his hands. He wasn't denying it, so her hope that it was merely a cruel cheap shot from Nicole withered when faced with the image of Bobby's anguish. Alex realized he needed her understanding and support, but her stomach was churning and she needed to find her own inner equilibrium before she could be of any use to him.**

**Taking a deep breath, she picked up another plate and heaped it with cold food, then placed it where Bobby had sat at breakfast. "Have some lunch, Bobby," she said shakily.**

**Not surprisingly, he didn't move.**

**Alex lifted her chin, eyes to the ceiling and steeled herself. She would show him nothing had changed. He was still a man above all others for her, his integrity and loyalty indisputable. What he had done, or allowed to be done, would not have been of his own free choice, but a product of his misguided need to protect her.**

**She walked over to the bed and stopped beside him. Pulling him gently by the shoulders, Alex bent down and nestled his head into her, crooning unintelligible words of support and love… yes, love. She loved him, undeniably, absolutely, and told him so, heedless of whether he returned her feelings, but needing him to know that she cared deeply and irreversibly for him.**

**Bobby pulled away slightly and looked up at her, eyes awash, wonder chasing away the despair. She read in his face his acceptance of her love, saw his joy at her words and she hoped it was more than wishful thinking that she saw affection reflected back at her.**

**"When Nicole comes back," Bobby whispered, "I'm not going to roll over and play her game any more, Alex. I want you to know that."**

**Alex nodded and smiled slightly, cupping his face with her hands.**

**"I want you to be prepared," he said more firmly. "For anything."**

**Alex bent slightly and lightly kissed him. "I will be. I understand."**

**oOo**

**Carolyn rushed into Deakins' office with Mike bringing up her rear more slowly. "We've got a location, Chief," she said, excitement lending urgency to her words.**

**"Nicole's staying on an estate owned by Alicia's late brother-in-law less than two hours out of Manhattan," Mike said, puffing slightly. "Barek has this hunch that Goren and Eames were on their way there this morning when Eames phoned in. If so, they should be well and truly there by now."**

**Deakins looked up from his desk. "You've tried contacting them?"**

**"We did this morning," Mike said. "Their cell phones rang out."**

**"How come this didn't come up in your initial search?"**

**"We were looking for properties owned by 'Mateus' and 'Haynes'," Carolyn explained. "She mentioned a first husband in our original interview but I didn't follow it through." She grimaced, annoyed with herself for making such a simple slip. "Her first husband, Sebastian Wendell, was brother to Arthur Wendell, one of the vics in the fire yesterday."**

**"That's the connection then?"**

**"Yep, it all fits," Carolyn nodded. "Alicia has never owned any property in her own name. It's always been her father's, her brother's, her husbands'. Nicole gave her a chance to actually _own _something in her own right."**

**"How so?"**

**"On Arthur Wendell's death," Mike chipped in, thrusting his hands in his pockets, eyes alight, "his estate goes to his next-of-kin. The only surviving next-of-kin is his late brother's wife!"**

**"Alicia Mateus."**

**Mike nodded. "Carolyn was on the right track. Alicia just confirmed it."**

**"So Nicole Wallace set fire to a building and killed seven people for Mateus' gain," Deakins said slowly, digesting the information. "Nicole doesn't do anything unless there's something in it for her."**

**"I think that, indirectly, there was," Carolyn frowned, thinking hard. "It was designed to get the attention of Bobby Goren. Well, more to the point, Alex and Bobby should have got the case, but Alex and Mike got it instead, thanks to our partner-swap exercise, but Nicole couldn't have foreseen that."**

**"You'll want to get there fast then," Deakins stated. "I'll get a chopper onto the roof."**

**"We're gonna need to take Alicia," Mike added.**

**Deakins shook his head. "You don't take witnesses on showdowns–"**

**"I have to back Mike up on this one, Chief," Carolyn said. "It's a big estate. We're going to need someone who not only knows the lay of the land but the security codes as well, both external and internal, if we want to take Nicole by surprise. Until we know who's up there with her, we don't want to go in with a blaze of glory."**

**His eyes narrowing on both of them, Deakins thought it through. "Okay, but I'm contacting the local authorities and getting them to meet you."**

**"Tell 'em not to make a move 'til we get there," Carolyn warned. "We don't know how Nicole will react to a barrage of uniforms."**

**"I'll warn them." Deakins picked up his phone receiver and punched in reception's number. "I _do_ know how Wallace will react and it won't be pretty. I want the both of you to take care too."**

**"Oh, and…" Carolyn turned round before leaving his office. "I think we might have another accessory to Gavin Haynes' attempted murder."**

**"But we only had Ella and a faulty elevator…" Deakins began, confused.**

**"But who let Gavin know there was a parcel waiting for him in the building with said elevator?"**

**oOo**

**The anger that coursed through Goren's veins was a physical presence that threatened to tip his sanity. His nerves grabbed the base of his neck and his fingers itched to wrap themselves around Nicole's neck.**

**Since Nicole and Rafiq rejoined Goren and Alex nearly an hour after dropping her latest bombshell, Rafiq had hovered close by Nicole as if ordered to do so. Goren didn't care, only wishing he could take him on too when he was finished with Nicole.**

**Tut-tutting again over the untouched lunch she had prepared, Nicole eyed Goren and Alex as they stood their ground in the middle of their 'prison'. "I went to great lengths to provide you both with sustenance to keep you full of energy and this is how you repay me."**

**Nicole's lips curved into a suggestive bow. "But then again, you'll soon be taking a different form of sustenance, won't you, Alex? Are you looking forward to drinking Bobby's–?"**

**"That's enough!" Goren bellowed, and Nicole looked genuinely shocked.**

**Aware that Alex was looking at Nicole as if she didn't believe she was serious, Goren had no doubt the madwoman fully expected them to go through with this new ignominy. He allowed the red haze of his anger to cloud his vision, hatred for Nicole consuming him, banking it only to gently take Alex' hand to lead her to the sofa, before pulling her down beside him.**

**Goren leaned back, making a show of nonchalance and unconcern, while he let his fury energize him and ready his body for action. Resting an outstretched arm across the sofa back, he pulled Alex into the crook of his arm, deliberately fixing Nicole with a practiced look of disdain.**

**"You've gone too far, Nicole," he said, masking his temper in a measured tone that was his only warning to her. "If you're looking for my limit, you've found it. We stop the nonsense now. You can have us jumping all manner of hoops and we'll probably end up dead anyway. I can't speak for Alex, but I think death by bullet might be preferable to continue being your source of entertainment indefinitely."**

**"You don't mean that, Bobby," Nicole said confidently.**

**"Maybe not, but _you_ don't know for sure." Goren's lips thinned into a savage grin as he pulled Alex more closely to him. His body was vibrating with rage and Alex must have picked up on it, because she pulled away slightly, but Goren gave her a warning squeeze.**

**"Shoot Alex," he said, spitting the words through his teeth, "and I'll throw myself in front of her and you'll probably take us both down. End of amusement. Sick Rafiq onto her, and it'll take a bullet to stop me from killing him. Same result. Whatever you do, you've had the last of our dancing to your tune." He held his arms wide. "Take your best shot."**

**Goren was a mass of coiled energy. He'd never bluffed with such superior odds before, but if it failed, he was willing to fight to the death as promised.**

**Nicole walked up to him and sat on the sofa armrest, leaning against Goren's shoulder and pulling his outstretched arm around her, her head resting atop his. She rubbed her cheek against his hair, making plaintive little noises in her throat.**

**"Oh, I intend to, Daddy," she said, her voice high-pitched and excited. "In fact, I'm quite chuffed that you agree it's necessary. Rafiq?"**

**Rafiq walked in front of the sofa and Goren watched him raise an arm and put a hand inside his coat. In the instant Rafiq withdrew his hand, Goren threw himself sideways in front of Alex. To his horror, Goren's peripheral vision caught Nicole's movement as she withdrew the Glock from her own jacket, and aimed it at Alex' head. Goren tried in desperation to both reverse his impetus _and_ strike out for Nicole, but it wasn't enough.**

**The distinctive _phut!_ of a bullet ejected through a silencer shocked his brain, a black wave of terror enveloping him as he realized he couldn't save Alex after all.**

**oOo**

**TBC…**

_**A/N: Still tweaking the conclusion. Thanks for your patience and persistence in staying with this story and reviewing. BTW, if anyone wants to help me out here…can you let me know what questions you want answered? I've written the conclusion, but I may have missed some plot holes? It's not too late to tweak it. Speak now or forever hold your peace!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**"A Shift of Axis"**_

_**Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara**_

_**M**_

_**Usual disclaimers apply.**_

_**A/N: Location and locale kept deliberately obscure.**_

_**Chapter Twelve **_

**Pushing Alicia ahead of him in a running crouch to clear the helicopter's rotor wash, Logan scanned the area, satisfied the local police had heeded Deakins' warning. The chopper had landed in a park at the north end of a wide avenue lined with autumn-canopied trees, while the local cruisers were parked among the evergreens that shaded the park's benches and pathways. Glancing down the road, Logan could see at least three huge ornate gates, guarding estates worth millions of dollars.**

**The officers remained close to their vehicles awaiting further orders and Logan looked round for whoever was in charge. A short, powerfully-built man detached himself from a group of four and made his way over to meet them.**

**"Officer Paul Bartlett." He dipped his head. "Detective Logan?" At Mike's nod, he continued. "There's been no activity. What do you want us to do?"**

**Logan checked that Barek was behind him and grabbed Alicia's wrist, nodding toward the estates. "Neighbors?"**

**"Most of the owners only use these houses during the summer months," Bartlett said, following Logan's gaze.**

**"Which is the Wendell estate?"**

**"The one on the right. The gate's fifty yards up. You won't get in without security clearance though. It's built like a fortress."**

**Logan lifted the hand that held Alicia's wrist. "Got my security clearance right here," he deadpanned.**

**Bartlett frowned, disapproving, but nodded and stepped back. "We'll wait for your signal then."**

**Logan hesitated, looking at Alicia. "What if Nicole heard the chopper?"**

**Still wearing the same sulky expression she had since they left the Precinct, she ignored him, gazing toward the estate.**

**"Alicia…"**

**"My partner asked you a question, Ms Mateus," Barek clipped.**

**"Can it, Detective," Alicia said nastily to Carolyn. "Mike can look after himself." She turned her back on Barek and spoke to Logan. "It's likely, if she's in the main house, but if she's in the basement where she intended to keep Goren and Eames, she won't have heard it. The basement's sound-proof."**

**Barek stepped up to Logan and he felt the almost physical waves of hostility emanating from her.**

**"But if she _did_ hear it," Barek asked, "how would she react?"**

**"Her main goal is to make Goren suffer for as long as possible before she kills Eames. They'll both be alive unless she's taken by surprise."**

**"Tell the chopper pilot to kill his engine." Logan told Barek.**

**Carolyn hesitated, then hunkered down back to the helicopter.**

**"What if you call her and told her you were here…with a friend?" Logan asked Alicia.**

**Her mouth was pinched and tight, eyes mutinous. "Mike, the deal was I tell you where Nicole is. I've done that. I've thrown in the extra of getting you through my security. I don't have to do any more."**

**Logan faced her off. "I'm takin' you in there with me, lady. It's in your best interests to co-operate and keep our way safe and clear."**

**Alicia's arms went rigid against her sides. "I've already tried calling her, so she knows about you." Her eyes burned into his, surprising him with her inner fire. "And she told me in no uncertain terms to keep you away."**

**"_When_ did you phone her?" he demanded.**

**She looked away, her neck and shoulders dropping.**

**"Alicia!" Logan tugged on her wrist, whipping her round to face him. "When did you call her?"**

**Her eyes swam with tears. "Af…after you left the first time."**

**He grabbed her shoulders, close to shaking her. "_Why?_"**

**"I…wanted to bring you up here too."**

**"And what? Do what Nicole's doing to Goren now? Is that it?" He could feel his teeth grinding together with the effort not to throttle her.**

**"No!" She winced as his hands tightened on her arms.**

**"Take it easy, Mike."**

**Logan's head swung slowly to see Carolyn rejoin them, watching him with worry.**

**He let his hands slide down Alicia's arms, but curled his fingers around her wrist again. "What is she doing to Goren?" he asked, reining himself in.**

**Alicia's face crumpled. "I didn't want to make you suffer, Mike. Nicole is all about humiliation. I…I just wanted you for myself–"**

**"Mike," Barek said quietly, "we haven't got time for this."**

**Logan focused on Carolyn's face, his temper doused by her concern. "Yeah. Sure. You ready?"**

**She drew her service pistol and gave him a nod. "As ready as I'll ever be. The locals know to hold off unless we say otherwise or something alerts them." She looked at Alicia and gave her a hard stare. "My job here is to cover my partner, Ms Mateus. I'll also be watching you. Anything happens to him, you'll be the first to know about it."**

**Alicia sneered at her. "I hear you."**

**"Good. We're communicating just fine."**

**"Let's go." Logan began a slow lope toward the Wendell estate, dragging Alicia along with him.**

**He'd never tell her so, but Mike appreciated Carolyn's looking out for him in a way that had nothing to do with their working partnership.**

**oOo**

**Pain shot upward from Goren's shoulder, his nerves sending panicked signals to his brain. His vision clouded before clarifying into the shocking reality of the gun held in Nicole's unsteady hand and still trained on Alex.**

**Alex was okay. He'd managed to deflect Nicole's aim with his last desperate feint back at her. He'd taken the bullet but, despite the burning ache, it was probably only a graze. The pain was secondary though to the consuming desire to be alone with this woman with no witnesses.**

**"That was silly, Daddy. Stupid, stupid Daddy!" Nicole chanted, her eyes wide and confused. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Honest! Mummy's s'posed to be hurt, not you."**

**Nicole started to cry, her finger still poised on the gun's trigger. "I was aiming for Mummy! With her out of the way, it will just be you and me! But you got in the way!" Her mouth trembled, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Needing the opportunity to unarm her, Goren couldn't risk testing her stability on the hair trigger of the Glock.**

**"Nicole, put the gun down," Goren said, forcing himself to speak calmly.**

**"Give the gun to me, Nicole," Rafiq said. "I will finish it."**

**"No!" Nicole stopped crying and her face went red with anger, her eyes glazed. "I have to do it."**

**"He's bleeding, Nicole," Alex said soothingly, and Goren admired her coolness in the sight line of a loaded weapon. "Let me bandage… Daddy's arm before he bleeds out."**

**"Huh? Oh, okay," Nicole sniffed. "Yes, you do it, Mummy."**

**Alex slowly rose from the sofa and walked to the table, Nicole covering her progress with the gun. Grabbing one of the napkins, she returned, cautiously pushing Goren's t-shirt sleeve up onto his shoulder to examine the injury.**

**"It's a flesh wound," she murmured, confirming Goren's original guess. He bit down as she tied the napkin round the weeping wound.**

**"Mummy?" Nicole asked plaintively. "Did I hurt Daddy a lot?"**

**Alex looked to Goren as to how to answer, but he couldn't help her. He wasn't sure how long Nicole would stay in this regressive state, or if it were preferable to her 'normal' disposition.**

**Swallowing his hatred of her, Goren kept his voice even. "Give…Daddy the gun, Nicole," he urged, his hand lifting slowly toward her.**

**"No! I didn't mean to shoot you! It should have been Mummy! Please don't take me upstairs!"**

**Rafiq walked round Nicole and lifted the carpet square behind her. "Let me finish it, Nicole," he said again. "Enough. It is time to go." He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the trapdoor, lifting it on its hinges in a fluid motion that spoke of its well-oiled condition. "Give me the gun and we go."**

**Rafiq's hand touched Nicole's wrist and her gun hand wavered, but she never took her eyes from Alex. "I have to do it, Mummy. Daddy knows that."**

**Goren's muscles were so tautly coiled, they vibrated beneath his skin. Ready again to throw himself in front of the bullet, he feared, with the injury, his reflexes wouldn't respond in time.**

**"Then do it," Rafiq urged, "and let us be–"**

**The door to the basement burst open and Goren's head snapped round to see Logan and Barek explode inward, guns raised, sweeping the room.**

**Goren dived low for Nicole but he was already too late. Rafiq was gone, down the trapdoor, Nicole right behind him.**

**Goren leapt for their escape route but Alex tackled him before he made it, bringing him to his knees. "Bobby! No! She's still got the gun! You go down there and she'll pop you off like a sitting duck!"**

**"She's right, Goren! It would be suicide!" Logan shouted.**

**With a grunt, Goren shook Alex loose and scrabbled for the trapdoor, ignoring their warning. By-passing the built-in descending steps, he launched himself down it feet first, landing in a crouch. Hands out in front of him, his eyes adjusted to the dark, taking in the timber braces butting the dank walls of a seven foot square cell. A five foot high tunnel disappeared into the blackness beyond and blocking the tunnel stood Nicole, the Glock held steady in her two hands, aimed at his head.**

**"If anyone else pokes their head through that trapdoor, Bobby," Nicole spoke smoothly, "I'll shoot them."**

**"Stay back!" Goren shouted above him. "She's got a gun and is gonna use it!"**

**"Bobby…?" Alex' voice was near, but she obeyed his order.**

**"No one follows me!" He shouted back, not taking his eyes from Nicole. "You fire that gun, Nicole," Bobby ground out, "and I take you down."**

**"I fully understand that," Nicole said, without concern, "but you'll have to live with the knowledge that it took the life of a friend, a lover, or a colleague to do it, whoever is stupid enough to come through after you." Nicole cocked her head to the side. "Is that what you want, Bobby?**

**Bobby killed the urge to throw himself at her and damn the gun, but he wasn't going to take any more from her. Taking a step toward her, he forced her to take one back, so that she was only three feet from the tunnel.**

**"What now, Nicole?" Bobby asked, softly, finding his calm. "We play the stand-off? Someone's gonna lose." He took another step forward and she mirrored the distance backward.**

**"I wasn't finished playing," Nicole said with disappointment. "There was a lot more I could have had you and Alex do. How is that you always spoil my fun, Bobby?"**

**"Fun!" he spat. "Your definition of fun is…_twisted_. It's sick…debased and…and cruel. That's not fun. That's sadism."**

**He took another step and a movement behind the steps had him whipping around too late. He saw Rafiq's arm rise and a blunt object flash toward his head. Reflex had Goren evading, but not quick enough. His already injured shoulder took the force of the object and he went down on his knees, renewed agony freezing him for the seconds it took Nicole and Rafiq to disappear into the tunnel and slam a door within. Dragging himself on his knees, Goren made it to the door and reached up to try the latch. It was either locked or jammed.**

**"Down here! Now!" he called above, struggling to his feet and Alex was first through the trapdoor, rushing to him, followed by Logan.**

**Goren brushed Alex' concern away, pointing to the door, but Logan was already at it, testing the catch and pushing against it. Shoulder-butting it several times produced no better result.**

**Logan shouted through the trapdoor to the basement above. "What's back there, Alicia?"**

**"It's a tunnel." A woman Goren didn't know tentatively showed her head. "Built to smuggle in illegals decades ago. It was here when Arthur bought the house. It goes all the way underground to a boathouse on the beach east of the estate."**

**"Are there any other exits?" Goren asked urgently.**

**"No, just the boathouse and here."**

**"So, Nicole's effectively trapped…if we can get to the boathouse first?"**

**Pulling himself back up the steps, Logan ordered, "Show us where it comes out!"**

**"I'm coming too, Logan!" Goren shouted, following.**

**"Someone has to stay here," Alex pointed out, "to make sure Nicole doesn't double back."**

**Bobby was right behind Logan and the woman he called Alicia, sprinting for the exit to the kitchen above, when he noticed Barek hovering off to the side.**

**"Don't look at me," Carolyn said, joining them. "I'm covering my partner."**

**Goren heard Alex curse loudly from the cell.**

**"Stay with Eames." he told Barek. "She's unarmed."**

**"But–"**

**"That's an order, Barek."**

**oOo**

**Following Logan and Alicia down an unkempt path lined with thin young trees and straggling creepers, Goren was pushing himself hard to keep up. The path underfoot was level enough, but his upper arm ached abominably, throbbing hard and painfully under Alex' makeshift bandage. He ignored the blood seeping down his arm, determined to get to Nicole.**

**"Is there a boat in this boathouse?" he shouted ahead, catching sight of Alicia being dragged by Logan as they weaved round dense bushes that scraped his skin and caught at his clothes when he took the corners too sharp.**

**"Of course!" Alicia shouted back, panting. "What's the purpose of a boathouse with no boat?"**

**More to the point, Goren thought, Nicole would have made sure there was a serviceable escape route.**

**"Down!" Logan commanded and Goren immediately threw himself onto the ground. He couldn't see Logan, but he heard Alicia give a strangled yelp and assumed Logan was too heavy-handed on her. He wondered who the woman was and hoped the other detective had a good reason for bringing her to the estate other than knowing the way to the boathouse.**

**Goren couldn't see anything but the path beneath him and the trees beyond, but he could hear the scrape of wood on wood, as if Rafiq and Nicole were already dragging the boat onto the beach.**

**"I want them stopped…before they get into the water," Goren hissed, crawling forward to clear the corner that hid the other two from him.**

**"Alicia, stay here," Logan said and Bobby saw him move forward at a low crouch.**

**Goren followed, determined Logan wasn't going to confront Nicole alone. Mike stopped suddenly, enabling Goren to crouch close and put a hand on his arm.**

**"You take Rafiq," Bobby ordered, seeing what prompted Logan to halt. The boathouse was ahead, the late afternoon light shadowing its wooden walls as it burst from the tree cover to nestle in the sand. Beyond it was the open sea.**

**"Nicole's mine," Bobby said.**

**"Who the hell is Rafiq?" Logan muttered.**

**"Nicole's side-kick. Don't worry, Logan, I'm not fobbing you off. The man's a cold-blooded killer. You got a second firearm?"**

**Logan's eyes widened as it occurred to him that Bobby wasn't armed. He shook his head.**

**"They've got a Glock…with a silencer, if not more," Goren said. "You gotta go first and cover me."**

**"You kiddin' me?" Logan ground out, checking out his bleeding arm. "You're gonna take 'em hand to hand with a flesh wound?"**

**"Give me another choice."**

**"I call the chopper we got on standby and–"**

**"They'll be gone by then. No…I'm doing this with…or without you."**

**"_Shit! _You're one crazy son-of-a–!"**

**But Logan nodded as if he knew it was pointless to argue and they both moved forward, still crouched low, past the belt of trees to the boathouse directly ahead. There was no movement outside, and Goren quickly checked that the coastline was clear of activity, the horizon flat and unbroken.**

**Motioning Logan to go left, Goren headed to the right of the building. There were no windows down the side through which to look, but the front doors were swung wide open, the only entrance.**

**Counting down with his fingers, Goren signaled Logan and they both rushed in together, Mike's weapon drawn and Bobby slightly behind him, his eyes struggling to see into the gloom. Scanning inside, he could make out a single rack of fishing rods, some abandoned crab pots, various buckets, and a pile of neatly stacked tarpaulins but the boathouse was devoid of boat and human occupation.**

**"What the–?" Goren began.**

**"Where's the damned boat?" Logan spun round on the spot, his weapon making an arc of the interior.**

**"There was nothing on the water. I checked."**

**A scream from outside had them flattening themselves against the boathouse's inner wall. It was unmistakably female.**

**"Alicia!" Logan said urgently, rushing out of the boathouse, weapon raised. Goren was right behind him as they retraced their steps to find Alicia sprawled on the path, a rapidly-spreading stain of red radiating from her chest above her heart.**

**Logan went down on his knees beside her.**

**"She…shot…me," Alicia gasped. "W…why?"**

**Goren braced himself, knees bent, searching the area rapidly in a three-sixty sweep. He thought he saw movement beyond and, at right angles to, the boathouse, disappearing along another path through the trees into the dusk.**

**"Get backup!" Bobby ordered. "I'm going after her!"**

**"Goren!" Logan shouted. "Here! Take my gun!"**

**Goren snapped round and Logan threw him the weapon. He caught it neatly, while still on the run, palming it in his left hand and, putting his head down, pressed forward. He had to accede the man had guts, relinquishing his weapon like that.**

**The path wound in a haphazard meander through the trees, but Goren could tell by the sound of the waves that it ran parallel to the beach, its gradient increasing with every step. He was laboring under the combined effort of keeping up the pace and ignoring the ache in his shoulder, but he wasn't going to stop.**

**Finally breaking free of the trees, he thrust out his right hand, grabbing a protruding tree branch in time to prevent his projecting himself over the edge of a grassed cliff. His feet tangling in exposed tree roots, Goren went down, sprawled in a rough blend of rock and sand. He saw below him the angry thrust of white-topped breakers as the waves crashed onto the rocks below. Looking north and south, he saw no sign of Nicole or Rafiq or a boat.**

**"_Shit!_"**

**Thrusting himself to his feet, he howled in a mixture of fury and frustration, spun round, gun raised, scanning the entire cliff but saw no tangible sign they had even been there. Had he imagined the fleeing figure? Goren swore again, and headed back the way he had come, moving slower this time and checking for signs of disturbance off the track. He found nothing, no sign of any desperate dash other than his own.**

**Back where he'd left Logan, Goren found the other man with Alicia's head pillowed on his lap. Mike's palm was laid gently against the woman's cheek, his head bowed in anguish.**

**Shoulders heaving, Bobby asked the inevitable. "She's–?"**

**"–dead. Ye–s." Logan said, his voice breaking. "Why? Why kill her?"**

**"I can guess why," Goren once again searched the belt of trees surrounding them, bringing his breathing under control. "Nicole will have correctly assumed Alicia brought us to the boathouse."**

**"But why punish her for it?"**

**"Nothing Nicole does…makes sense to the average person."**

**Logan looked up at him, pulling away hands wet with blood. "But it does to you?"**

**"Yeah…it does to me," Goren said, his shoulders bowed in defeat. "That's my problem."**

**oOo**

**At its first chirp, Carolyn whipped her cell phone out of her pocket.**

**"Mike!" she said urgently.**

**"Yeah." His voice came over strong and well in her ear and the tension dropped from her neck. "The locals are coming in. As soon as they secure the house, meet us back at the chopper."**

**"Everyone okay?" she asked.**

**"I'll see you soon."**

**He hung up without answering her question and she didn't want to guess what that meant.**

**Alex was looking worriedly at her, and Carolyn shrugged. "He said to meet him at the helicopter when the uniforms arrive. That's all. I don't have any other information."**

**Alex bit her lip. "Bobby?"**

**"He didn't say."**

**"I'm going now," Alex said, her tone adamant.**

**"Alex–!"**

**But she was gone.**

**Carolyn kicked her heels for another five minutes before two uniformed cops burst through the door of the basement, weapons raised, and Carolyn flashed her badge at them.**

**Pointing to the trapdoor, she started walking out of the room. "My partner wants you to watch that exit. I'm finished here."**

**oOo**

**Carolyn strode double-time down the avenue leading to the helicopter. Reaching the park at the same time as an ambulance rounded the corner from the south, she searched frantically for Mike and Bobby. Alex was hovering beside Goren, who seemed fine but bloodied from his left shoulder down. Talking rapidly to Bartlett, Goren was pointing east, while Logan stood apart, the front of his clothes covered in blood.**

**"_Oh, shit!_ Mike!" Carolyn rushed forward, and Logan saw her and put up a hand.**

**"I'm fine," he assured her. "It's…Alicia." He shook his head in disbelief. "Nicole shot her. Near the boathouse."**

**Carolyn touched a hand to his arm in silent support, resisting the urge to do more as Bobby and Alex joined them.**

**"Nicole?" Carolyn asked.**

**Bobby jerked his head east, then rolled his neck as if in discomfort. "We don't know whether…whether she's dead or not. She's performed one of her famous…disappearing acts. Again."**

**A local cop hurried toward them down the road from the estate gates. When he reached the group, he excitedly held out two cell phones.**

**"Detective?" He showed his find to Bobby who took them both.**

**"We found them when we searched the boathouse," the officer explained. "These were the only things there that didn't seem to belong."**

**"They're ours," Goren said, nodding once. "Eames and mine. Nicole or Rafiq must…must have had them all this time."**

**"And she returned them?" Carolyn asked. "Why bother?"**

**"If Nicole is true to form," Bobby mumbled, "there will be a…a message for me."**

**Handing Alex hers, he thumbed through the display on his phone, his face tightening at the confirmation of his guess. Carolyn watched him read the message, curl his lips in distaste and hand it to Alex.**

**Standing next to Eames, Carolyn was in a position to see the text as Alex read it. While not understanding the communication, Carolyn realized that Alex and Bobby did.**

**She wouldn't push it now, but one day in the near future, she would ask them to explain Nicole's farewell message.**

**'_I gave you a gift, Bobby. It's up to you whether you use it or not._'**

**oOo**

_**End of "A Shift of Axis"**_

_**A romantic continuation will appear in the next story, "Two Pair, Queen High".**_

_**A/N: I apologize for one, the failure of Bobby to once again bring Nicole to justice and two, for the nebulous nature of her flight back into obscurity. The first is a necessity due to Nicole still, ostensibly, being at large in the Law and Order franchise and the second… because I've found every one of Nicole's escapes in the same franchise, nebulous and too easy. The first time, she left an empty apartment and a plate of 'scons'; the second, she was somehow untouchable because she was married to a rich man; the third, she survived a dunking in the cold, heartless waters of a Manhattan river; the fourth, she simply stepped over the state line and was again untouchable; and the fifth… well, no one saw her come OR go. Have I got all of this straight? It appears all too easy to 'disappear' in New York. :-D **_

**_If I have left any plot-holes or questions unanswered, please write me and I will either endeavour to fix them or write them into the next instalment, _Two Pair, Queen High.**

_**Thank you all for reading.**_


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